Erase Me
by LoweFantasy
Summary: Yugi is painfully shy. But when a certain choir teacher picks out her voice among the rest, he makes it his personal mission to help her overcome her social anxiety so she can share her talent with others. But before that there were the poems from a secret lover, who knows all too well of how inappropriate a relationship between the two of them would be. FemYug, Fem Joey
1. Come No Closer, Kindness

Erase Me

By LoweFantasy

Chapter 1

It started with the poem.

" _Come no closer, kindness._

 _I cannot feel your truth_

 _without trembling_

 _for its rarity._

 _And should we dare to touch_

 _I'm certain_

 _I would break you_

 _and that cannot be."_

Joey read it over Yugi's shoulder the moment her shorter friend had pulled it out of her locker, along with the bright red rose.

"What kinda love poem is that? If it weren't for this rose I wouldn' e'n be able to tell."

Yugi, however, thought it was sweet. Sentimental, even, and blushed. Then again, Yugi blushed very easily.

For the next minute Joey and her took turns examining the curly cursive and seeing if they recognized the handwriting. Soon, however, Yugi had to put her rose back in her locker and head off to class.

"For your sake, I hope they ain't butt ugly."

"Even if they were," said Yugi. "I'd like to get to know them."

"You're too nice, and I don't mean that in a good way. You'll keep me up to date, right?"

"Always do."

(*&*%*(&)(*))%$^%

Tea caught up to her in choir. Though Yugi was a soprano and Tea was an alto, their sections stood close enough that the two could stand next to each other and whisper well enough. Unfortunately, since Yugi was, by far, the tiniest person in class, she was on the front row, meaning Tea only got a few words in about Yugi's secret admirer (Joey had Biology with her), before Mr. Atem leveled his famous blood curdling glare on them. Though never cruel, that didn't stop the straight backed music teacher from scaring the crap out of any student that dare chit-chat in his class. They had far too little time to learn their music to waste it on talking, he'd say.

Thus, Yugi curdled up in submissive horror. Tea imitated him, though Yugi could tell she was inwardly melting.

"How can someone look so hot and scary at the same time?" she murmured somewhere between steps of 'fa tra la la sah' and lip buzzes.

And, thus, Tea forgot about to ask Yugi about the details.

Yugi let out a quiet sigh of relief. She didn't know if she was quite ready for the hyperactivity Tea was sure to inject into the subject. It was just a poem. And, secretly, Yugi suspected it was probably a prank, though she knew her friends would vehemently deny it should she tell them.

After all, Yugi had never had a secret admirer, but she had had plenty of bullies.

When the bell rang, Yugi prepared herself for Tea's whispered speculations of how many times Mr. Atem must have looked at her or picked her voice out for fine tuning ('if he loves me he won't be able to do anything about it, being a teacher and all. Oh! I could scream!'), but instead of getting Tea, Yugi turned around to see Mr. Atem himself, arms folded, and ever formidable. His sharp red eyes didn't help, and for a horrible breath Yugi thought she might pee. Why dear Lord did this man wear red contacts? Because they had to be contacts. Wasn't his wild rock star hair scary enough? Some speculated he'd rather be working for Kiss rather than a high school music teacher, and the sharp glares supported this theory.

"Yugi, can I have a quick word with you?"

Yugi nodded. Oh no, please let her not be in trouble. She could just handle choir with him, forget being alone in the same room with him.

Nevertheless, she followed him into the small office separated from the rest of the music room by a glass and metal door. Yugi did her best not to stick her foot in the door as it hissed shut.

Mr. Atem turned to her and leaned against his desk. It was only then that Yugi realized his tie wasn't black, but a deep maroon. Like dried blood.

Mr. Atem smiled, which softened his sharp features just barely. "No need to look so frightened. You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite. I think you've been doing well, or, your singing has. Have you ever had voice lessons? I can't see you never considering them, from what I know of you."

That easy blush tickled the top of Yugi's nose and she looked down at her feet, as she was often prone to do. Tea and Joey had made it their life goal to stop that bad habit of hers.

"No, sir."

"Why not? Never had the money?"

Yugi tucked the toes of her Converse together. "No. I did sort of try once."

"Try?"

"Got, um…I just didn't feel like it." Yugi didn't have to mention that the moment the voice teacher had asked her to open her mouth she had burst into terrified tears. She was pathetic enough staring at her toes like some autistic socially troubled dweeb without him knowing that too.

"Any way I can help you feel like it now? I'd be willing to give you some voice lessons for extra credit after school. With your grandfather's permission, of course."

This shocked Yugi's gaze up to the teacher's face, but she quickly dropped it down to the dry-blood tie.

"Am I that bad?" she squeaked.

Mr. Atem laughed at this, a deep, throaty chuckle that the students didn't hear very often. Yugi couldn't help but smile when she imagined what Tea would do if she was here, alone, with that laugh. Probably faint.

"Are you serious? Yugi, your voice is phenomenal, and I can always pick you out from the soprano section, without fail. I want to see where you can go with it. If I just left you to vanish back into the student body, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. What do you say?"

Yugi fidgeted. She already knew her answer. If she would cry in front of a kind, fat little old lady, there was no telling what might happen if she was asked to open her mouth for Mr. Halloween-Rock-Star-Atem.

But Mr. Atem must have predicted her thoughts, for he said, before she could even breathe, "Of course I'd let you bring your friend Tea with you, if you like. I know it can be intimidating to sing for one person, especially someone you know is judging you."

That stopped Yugi's denial flat. If Yugi could give Tea the chance to spend quality time with Atem after school, just her and him (practically, even if Yugi was there)…

And if Yugi wasn't alone…she really did like to sing. She loved it, even, and what he was offering was free, professional voice lessons, which, as she knew from experience, weren't cheap.

So with that, Yugi and Mr. Atem made plans and Yugi was sent home with a permission slip for her mother to sign.

( *&%$%^#(*

Yugi gave Tea her permission slip at the beginning of English class, which was the last period for the day. After Yugi's quick explanation, Tea screamed so loudly, several students jumped and cried out.

"Oh my GOD!"

Yugi had to jump to slap her hands over her much taller friend. Everyone was staring.

"Keep it down! You're not the only one who likes him, remember?" Yugi hissed as loud as she dared.

Tea tore off her hand, beaming. "So? Oh my—EEK! I've never dreamed—oh 'lanta, just wait till Mai hears about this she is going to KILL me!"

She went on like that all the way up till Mr. Keith strutted in with his usual too-tight wrestling T-shirt and American bandana. Anyone who saw him wouldn't have believed he was an English teacher. Though he was the school's wrestling coach, wrestling and Shakespeare didn't exactly go hand in hand.

"Alright, twerps, you better have last week's Othello essays ready to roll or it's F bombs on your sorry behinds."

The class groaned. That was another thing. Hardly anyone liked him. As the symphony of rustling paper quieted down, Mr. Keith (or 'the Asshole Bandit' as Joey liked to call him), leveled a none-too-kind smile on tiny Yugi, who shrunk in her seat. He loved picking on her, probably because, without fail, Yugi would rise pitch white and sit down as red as a tomato.

"You first, shrimp. Let's hear your sorry excuse for a thesis statement. And you'll be glad to know I have a barf bag right here, 'case you need it." Mr. Keith waved a brown paper doggybag he'd kept on his desk since that first time he had had Yugi read outloud. Any humane teacher would have let Yugi off the hook with that, or at least apologized. Keith just smirked wider with glee.

Clenching her mouth tight, Yugi took a deep breath through her nose and stood on shaking knees, feeling nauseous despite the burning determination to not give in.

As she endured several booms of 'louder!' that never failed to make her flinch, Yugi couldn't help but remember the words of the poem and wonder if, just maybe, it wasn't a prank at all. The poems soft words had been so unlike the tortures of the roaring English teacher.

 _Come no closer, kindness._


	2. Quiet, Now

**Because this story has been so well accepted, here's an early update. For all of you who don't know me, it is my rule to update a story at least once a week. My update day is usually Wednesdays.**

 **Also, today is the release date for my debut novel, though I'm finding that doesn't necessarily mean it's hit the book sellers yet (the publishers failed to tell me that so now I've got a lot of corrections with readers to make). It just means it's up for sale from the printer. So, if any of you are interested, check out my profile for a link to the printer, which means you'll get it cheaper anyways because you won't have to pay a bookseller (Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, etc), for selling it to you. Also, as always, feel free to PM or email me (email is tayslowe gmail ) for whatever reason.**

 **For synopsis of what my book's about, check out my profile. I think you guys especially will like it, though, as it's a time-traveling romance set in Ancient Egypt. ) Muwahahaha.**

 **Enjoy.**

Chapter 2

" _Quiet, now._

 _The softness of your eyes_

 _only open_

 _to unfiltered sunlight,_

 _and tremble to any cloud_

 _of storm._

 _But I'll kiss_

 _every shard of amethyst_

 _the thunder may break from them."_

Yugi rubbed her thumb across the cursive, as though she could feel the fingers of the writer through them. She couldn't help but smile. Even if it were a horrible prank, she could believe it for now, couldn't she?

Joey, however, took out the red rose from Yugi's locker with a frown.

"I don't know why, but I gotta bad feel'n 'bout this guy."

"You got a bad feeling about every guy." Which, knowing Joey's history with gangs and her abusive drunk of a father, wasn't surprising.

"Someone's gotta. If it weren' for me, you'd go out with the first fellow who asked, even if he had 'Yay Date Rape' on his forehead."

"I'd like to think I'm not that stupid."

"Naïve, Yug. If you ever call yourself stupid I'm punch'n your lights out, best friend or not, especially after beat'n me at Martian Rails by $2,500 last night. I'm still pissed off at you for that."

What she didn't know was that it was actually $5,500, but Yugi had kindly ignored that and told her friend the lesser number. She had to, otherwise Joey might not play another game with her, and then where would she be? Tea wouldn't anymore, that was for sure—even if Yugi had just blessed her with an entire week of personal voice lessons with Mr. Atem.

Come English class, however, Yugi was presented with a far bigger problem than Mr. Keith's torment when Tea ran out of the classroom and didn't come back. She sent Yugi a text saying she had to go home sick, and Yugi didn't ask for details. Joey texted back that it was probably a bad case of the runs, followed with a little cat-lipped smiley.

This left Yugi to walk into the empty choir room on her own, her hands clammy and her mouth dry, and no second singer to hide behind. Mr. Atem waited at the baby grand as usual with his hands picking out chords.

"Where's Tea?" he asked, stopping mid G-Major scale.

Yugi mumbled something that she hoped sounded enough like 'she's sick' to make sense, but sounded scrambled even to her. Mr. Atem looked concerned, but then smiled softly.

"I'm proud of you for coming anyways. It's okay if you'd rather go home."

But Yugi didn't move. For some reason, she kept thinking of the doggie bag on Mr. Keith's desk, and then the lines of the poem she had received that morning. _Quiet, now…but I'll kiss every shard…_

She looked down at her sweaty hands. The sight of them almost made her cry. Even as she thought of her own nervousness and how awful it felt to always have her stomach twisting up or her face getting hot at the smallest provocation, she could feel her eyes burn.

No, no, she couldn't cry. She hadn't even done anything yet.

She heard a squeak of Mr. Atem's leather boots. He always wore the same leather boots, no matter if he wore jeans, slacks, or shorts. "Yugi, is everything okay?"

No, everything wasn't okay.

The moment Mr. Atem made a move to stand up, Yugi knew she would flee, and there would be nothing to stop her. She was just too scared, scared of everything, and it was so pathetic. It was already bad enough that she was small as a mouse, forget being as timid as one.

But Mr. Atem didn't stand up. Rather, he spoke in a gentle voice, barely more than a whisper.

"I won't laugh."

And before Yugi could stop herself, she blurted, "I hate me."

"Yugi…"

"I-I-I hate how s-shy—I'm f-freaking terrified of everyone, it's…it's so stupid, it's so dumb, I'm so pathetic. I really hate me."

And there it was. The tears. Oh God, she'd never live this down. She should run right then, right there, and she even turned to do so—

But a warm hand on her wrist stopped her. Just as quickly as it appeared there, it vanished, as though her skin burned him. She dared to look up past her blond bangs.

Mr. Atem wasn't laughing. Rather, the sharpness that so intimidated all his students had softened with a look Yugi couldn't decipher; something akin to pain.

It flashed away and Mr. Atem had on a gentle smile instead.

"I'm not going to tell you how silly you are to hate someone like yourself," he said, still at that low volume as though he were talking to a frightened deer. "But I can say I can help you work on it. You don't have to be so shy if you don't want to be."

Yugi wrinkled her nose in disgust, then sniffed and wiped her eyes roughly. "I don't know, I've never heard of a case as bad as mine."

"How about we make a bet, then? If I can't help you overcome your shyness by the end of the year, I'll pay you $500."

Yugi's eyes widened. "What?"

Mr. Atem's grin had broadened. "Just think of all the games you could get with $500. You do like games, don't you? I saw you and one of your friends playing in the cafeteria once. Duel Monsters, right?"

Despite all her inhibitions and the thousands of voices screaming at her not to, Yugi's brain had already started calculating how many packets of Duel Monsters cards she could get with that money. Heck, she could buy a whole box, even, maybe several. She could even pay for a day out with Joey to the arcade, where they could do any game they want until the arcade closed.

Her mouth didn't feel so dry anymore.

Mr. Atem, still smiling, held out his hand. "Well?"

Yugi gulped, then clasped her teacher's hand. It was just as warm as it had been before, and the knuckles of his fingers didn't hurt hers when he squeezed them lightly in a shake, as though they were carved to hold tiny hands like hers.

"Deal."

"Great!" He returned to normal volume, and Yugi flinched. "In that case, I'll inform miss Tea that her lessons with me are concluded. From now on, it will be just you and me."

Yugi blanched.


	3. Fate, Please

**Here's an update for you all because Mondays suck. Please review and let me know what you think. :) If I can, I'll respond back.**

Chapter 3

Yugi could sort of see how stage fright and shyness were connected, but she didn't fully trust that the techniques used to conquer one would pass on to the other. After three lessons, all of which ended with Yugi red faced, teary eyed, and barely getting out a single note at a time (not to mention starting to think Mr. Atem wanted to destroy her rather than help), she finally managed to squeak out the warm ups. Mr. Atem rewarded her with a strawberry lollipop, which she was currently licking when a boy dressed in wrestling spandex burst out from a door in front of her and fell face first onto the linoleum. The familiar horn of Mr. Keith's bellowing followed him out the door before it hissed closed.

Yugi scrambled to help him up, but before she could figure out what was safe to touch on the half-naked, sweaty boy, he had gotten to his feet and had a hand to his scraped elbow. His hair had been gelled into a single, thick spike in front of his head, like some strange idea of a pompadour, and despite the sweat dripping from his chin it didn't seem in the least affected by his exercise.

He glared at Yugi and her lollipop.

"What're you looking at?"

"Nothing!" she squeaked.

"Like hell!" His face had been flushed red, but was steadily leaning towards purple. "You were listening, weren't you?"

"No!" Did he mean the yelling? "I mean, I heard him yell, but I was just passing by—"

His open palm connected with her cheek. The force threw her off her feet and sent the lollipop flying, where it shattered against a wall of lockers.

Before she could do little more than register the hot pain which had replaced the right side of her face, the boy grabbed the front of her shirt and flung her against the lockers. She gave a cry of pain as her backbone and skull slapped against them. Stars burst in front of her eyes.

"Little bitch! Teach you to listen at doors!"

"I-I-I was just—"

A foot connected with her stomach. She coughed, which turned to a retch. On no, she was going to puke. Please let her not puke. God, it hurt so much.

She could just make out the boy's shoe through a film of tears pulling back for another blow when a roar ripped through the hallway like thunder.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, BRAT!?"

The wrestler had to work through the haze of his rage to register what was happening. By then, Mr. Atem had already crossed the hall, grabbed the front of his spandex uniform, and flung him against the lockers.

In that moment he lived up to every image his sharp features and blood red eyes hinted at. He had his teeth bared when he pushed the kid up till his toes barely touched the floor, despite being almost a head shorter. He was strong.

"You better turn tail and never come back before I have you _expelled_ for what you just did!"

The boy grunted, flashing his teeth back. "Stupid girl had it—"

 _Slam!_ The kid grunted from the force, but Mr. Atem had come in close and personal, snarling into the other's face. "What kind of idiot guy beats up a girl?! Let alone one half his size!?"

"Hell! Fine! Just let me go, you freak!"

And he did. Barely sparing the choir teacher a glance, the wrestler stumbled off towards the locker rooms, cursing.

In an instant Mr. Atem switched from demonic to soft voice teacher once more as he crouched down.

"Where does it hurt?"

"I-I'm fine," she said. And she was. It hurt like the dickens and she still hadn't managed to get a full breath, but she didn't feel like she was going to puke anymore. She hoped he didn't say anything about the lollipop. "I'll have some gnarly bruises to show off to Joey in the morning, heh!"

He helped her to her feet and steadied her as she hugged her middle. As she struggled to catch her breath, he gently pulled her face toward him to examine the red mark where the boy's hand had hit. Something twitched in his expression, and his lips thinned.

"Come on, I'll get you a cold rag. It should help with the swelling."

Yugi could feel herself heating up in embarrassment. "No, it's okay, I'm fine, really. I may look small but I'm tough." Also true. It wasn't like this was new to her. Bully magnet number one, right here, girl or no.

"'Course you are, but I'd rather not send you home to your parents without showing some sign of trying to help, and I got some ibuprofen too."

And since Yugi was a pro at choosing which fights to fight, she allowed Mr. Atem to pull her back to his office, despite the way that terrifying face of his had been towards the wrestler.

The shards of the strawberry lollipop glittered after them in the afternoon sun.

In his office he pulled out an ice pack ("I keep it for migranes—symptom of being a music teacher.") and gave it to her to press against her face. He then popped some familiar red ibuprofen into her hand with a bottle of water and offered to walk her to the front door of the school.

"Not that it matters, but why did that boy attack you?" he asked as they passed the front office.

"He thought I overheard something between him and Mr. Keith," she shrugged. "I kind of don't blame him. Knowing Mr. Keith, it was bound to be humiliating."

"What do you mean?"

Yugi glanced at him with her one uncovered eye, then looked down shyly. "I…I shouldn't speak badly about a teacher. This is your first year, right?"

Mr. Atem nodded and Yugi gave a quiet 'ah.' When she didn't continue after that, Mr. Atem pushed her for her opinion as he opened the school's front doors for her.

"Well," she hesitated, grasping her elbow. "I-I don't dislike him or anything, but, um, one time he called on me and class and, you know, I sort of…got so nervous I threw up."

"Wait, that was you?"

Now her blush painted everything from her shoulders up with hot flame. Was she that infamous?

At the look on her face, he raised his hands in defense. "There was nothing about you, I just heard him telling some teachers about a girl who threw up in his class out of nerves once, and so every time she speaks he keeps a barf bag on hand. Seemed sort of considerate, maybe."

Yugi gave a pained grimace through her hot face. "Yeah, it would be. But he sort of, um, calls on me before everyone else, every day, and then makes sure to wave it around. I guess he's trying to help me get over it, I mean, I'm still really sorry for throwing up and grossing everyone out but…Mr. Atem?"

His name came out of her timidly as the ugly look from before threatened to reappear. It was the wrestling boy all over again, and she became instantly alarmed as to what the teacher would do.

"Please, Mr. Atem, it's nothing bad! I'm sure if it was anyone else but me they'd be fine, I'm just, you know, shy."

"That's bullying, no matter who you are." He said flatly, but to Yugi's relief his expression softened. "I'm sorry, have I scared you? I've been told I can be rather intimidating at times."

"No! Not at all!" Lie. Her voice always squeaked too high when she lied.

But he seemed to take it and he waved her farewell.

Yugi's mother was off to work, as usual, so it was her grandpa that fussed over her developing bruises. After insisting for the uptenth time that it was handled, and that a teacher had broke in this time, Grandpa satisfied himself by pushing a mug of her favorite hot cocoa into her hands and situating her on the couch amidst a nest of poofy quilts. There they watched an old black and white classic until Yugi's insides finally stopped shaking.

Sometimes she reminded herself of a Chihuahua. Tiny, trembling, bug-eyed-probably annoying too.

She really did hate herself.

! #$^%&*^%$# $%

Joey descended on her like a charging bull the moment she caught sight of Yugi's half purple face.

"Who the hell did this? And don't you dare try to defend them, I'm going to rip out their hair and dig out their eyes with my thumb!"

"Joey! Stop! It's fine!"

"Why didn't ya call me? You promised!"

"If you'd just calm down and listen to me I can explain."

"Don't try the fell off my bed and onto my dresser excuse, just give me names."

"I don't know his name—"

"Him?! Aw hell, that's low! Yug, you're going to point him out so I can chop his balls off—"

"Do you always bark so much this early in the morning, Wheeler?"

Instant Joey derailment. Coming up from the back doors that Joey had just entered was none other than Seto Kaiba, tall, handsome, insanely rich (no one knew why he came to a public school), rude, and Joey's arch nemesis. Yugi would have smiled, since their battles were often amusing, if it wasn't for Joey's already irate mood.

"Not now, moneybags, I'm busy."

"Chopping off someone's balls? How very ladylike. Though I'd think a mongrel like you would chew them off. Pretty image we got there."

Joey whirled on him, red to the tips of her shaggy, gold blond hair. Yugi almost expected steam to start pouring out from her ears like a volcano. There was nothing she hated more than perverted comments on her own sex. From day one she hated being a girl, which was why Yugi and her made such good friends, in a way. Yugi hated her shyness, Joey hated her sex.

"I got enough fists for both of ya, so ya better shut your yap before you lose some teeth!"

"Or what? You might chew my balls off too? I think I like this idea—"

"Bastard!" She made a swing, and, per usual, Seto simply stepped to the side, smirking.

And also as per usual, Seto's uncanny luck to summon a teacher the moment Joey started throwing fists kicked into gear.

This time, it was Mr. Atem.

Yugi could only be amazed that Mr. Atem's famous ice-inducing glare worked even on the formidable Seto Kaiba, who backed down just as quickly as Joey.

"While your flirting is amusing—" he started.

Joey gagged. " _Flirting?"_

"—I'm in no mood to play. Kaiba, keep up provoking Josephine and I'll write you up for sexual harassment. Josephine, get violent and I'll see you're suspended."

And then his grumpy gaze fell on Yugi, who stiffened. He blinked, softened just a bit, and nodded.

"See you in choir, Yugi?"

"Yes, Mr. Atem."

Joey glared at both teacher and boy as they walked away, growling in her throat.

"Well ain't this great? Not even eight and I already want to blow up this damn hellhole."

Though she liked Joey's bad moods as much as the next person, she took the opportunity of Joey's distraction to quickly explain what had happened the day before. She finished as they reached their lockers, and Yugi had to focus on twisting in her combination.

"You say Mr. Atem threw the kid?" Joey gave a low whistle. "Wish I'd seen it."

"I wish I hadn't. He was scary." The door popped open and a slip of paper fell out. Yugi recognized the curl of cursive through the white paper and picked it up. Instantly Joey was behind her, chin over her shoulder, bad mood forgotten. Yugi gave her friend a fond smile and unfolded this week's poem.

 _"Fate, please,_

 _let me wrap her in silk,_

 _wash away her tears_

 _with morning dew._

 _Let nothing harsh_

 _touch such delicately_

 _woven lace_

 _as my little one's soul._

 _But I'm not deceived._

 _Even spindly spider's web_

 _can catch a bullet_

 _better than steel."_

Joey chortled. "I like this one. I think he's finally seeing who you really are."

"What do you mean?"

"That you ain't some delicate thing. You're strong, Yug. Stronger than you know."

Yugi snorted. "You sound like some cheesy motivational poster."

"Do ya think I'd lie to you?"

"Tell me that when I don't barf in front of my English class and I might believe you. Until then, thanks for the sentiment." And before Joey could continue the argument, "Want to sleep over this weekend?"

As predicted, Joey was instantly distracted. There was nothing she loved more than getting out of her house and away from her father.


	4. Hear Yourself

**Okay okay, I need to pace myself and not post too much so everyone gets a chance to catch up. Update every Wednesday. Yeah. Only every Wednesday...**

 **Oh, and my goal with this story is to make a relationship between a teacher and student not creepy. let me know if I'm accomplishing that, if you have a moment, that is.**

Chapter 4

"This room is one of the bands private practice studios. I've had to reserve it, so we better get through our warm ups quick."

The room in question was off to the side of the tiny hallway that connected the choir room to the band and orchestra room. It was tiny, about the size of Yugi's bathroom at home, and only had two music stands, the same industrial carpet, and walls covered in sound proofing foam. She found she kind of like the place. It seemed like a comfy nook to hole up in whenever you wanted to be alone.

Mr. Atem pushed her squeaking through the warm ups too quickly to explain, but once he seemed satisfied that she was as loosened up as she was going to get, he slipped out a small black box from his shirt pocket and led her back to the studio.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you in the room for five minutes. I'll close the door behind me and go out into the hall, so there's no chance I will be able to hear you. I want you to sing, whatever you want, for five minutes. This will record you." He lifted up the black box, which Yugi then recognized for what it was.

She squirmed. "It won't be any different, someone will still hear—"

"No, they won't."

She paused. "They won't? But if its recording me—"

"It's recording for you. If you don't want me to hear it, I won't. The purpose of this exercise is to let you hear what you sound like, because I know you don't realize how good you are."

She looked down to her feet—stupid bad habit—as she felt her face heat up as it always did.

Mr. Atem sounded as though he were smiling at her as he continued. "Once you hear yourself, I hope it gives you the confidence you need to not be afraid to sing anymore—wherever you want, whenever you want. So, you ready? Need a drink of water before I shut you in?"

She shook her head, so Mr. Atem set up the recorder on one of the music stands, told her which button to push when she was ready, and then left.

Once the door was closed, all outside noise was shut out. She couldn't hear when Mr. Atem closed the door behind him as he went into the hallway. She couldn't even hear the hum of the A/C or the click of the classroom clock.

A sudden relief washed over her, undoing knots she hadn't noticed and drawing out breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. For the first time in days, maybe weeks, Yugi relaxed.

She was alone. No one would hear her. No one could see her. It was just her.

When she finally turned on the recorder, no nervous squirm twisted her gut. It was like she was home alone, singing as she cleaned. How much she loved those days always made her secretly ashamed.

When Mr. Atem came back in from the hallway, she was waiting for him in the choir room.

"Have you listened to it yet?"

She shook her head. "I…I'm sort of afraid to."

"Well I'm glad you waited anyways, I wanted you to listen on some high-def headphones."

Ah. Yes. There was the familiar dread. "Mr. Atem—"

"Don't worry, Yugi. Trust me."

So she clenched her knees together beneath her skirt and let Mr. Atem slip the headphones over her ears.

"You have the most interesting hair," he said as he plugged the jack into the recorder.

"I've always liked bright colors. When I dye parts of my hair it somehow makes me feel like I'm more daring than I actually am." She couldn't help but giggle at that as she fingered her blond bangs and strands of her purple tipped, long black hair. "I'm silly, aren't I?"

"Not any more silly than I am. Ready?"

"No, but go ahead."

At first all she heard was quiet breathing and maybe the soft buzz of white noise. But then someone—because it couldn't be her—started to sing, and her jaw dropped. The most peculiar sensation came over her, hot like fudge, and tickling her skin. Then her eyes started to twinge.

This couldn't be her. It couldn't be.

Because the music was beautiful. Professional grade beautiful. The tone, the style, the pronunciation, the breathing—how had she managed to get it all down so well? All those years singing to herself and comparing it to the radio. The only thing that helped Yugi to believe that it really was her was the fact it was a high, sweet soprano.

She listened to the full five minutes of her singing to herself before slipping off the phones.

Mr. Atem had that tender smile on his face that took away the rock star intimidation he usually wore. In a flash of awakening, she could see it, what Tea could see. Mr. Atem was gorgeous, handsome—how had she never seen it before? And how could a man like this be working as a high school music teacher?

"Well?" he asked.

"T-this can't be me."

"Oh, trust me, it's you. Didn't quite believe it myself when I first picked you out. Took me a while, you really like to hide beneath whoever you're singing with. So," he slid down onto the baby grand piano bench and settled his fingers on the keys. "Think you can practice for real this time knowing you've got nothing to be afraid of?"

But Yugi hadn't moved. She still clung to the headphones. A part of her tried to be embarrassed by how much she was letting this get to her head, but she couldn't remember…couldn't comprehend…

Despite her best attempts not to, Yugi started to cry.

Mr. Atem's face fell. "Oh no, did I say something? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm just so relieved," she said, raising an arm to hide her face. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe how relieved I am. I'm not awful."

"Did you really think you were?"

"No, but I was always afraid that I was."

He chuckled softly. "One less thing to be afraid of in this scary world. Come here. I've waited a long time to hear you—no one to hide behind."

She was nervous as always at first. But as it fully sunk in that the angel in the recording was actually her, and she started to pick out the angel in herself, she found herself stepping forward with a confidence she had never had before. She stopped squeaking. She finally found she could breathe. And five minutes after their time was up, Yugi had sung a whole song without giving a single concern over the fact that Mr. Atem sat right next to her, hearing every note.

She waited for his suggestions once the final chord ended, but he held still. He just sat there, holding the pencil for notes in one hand and staring at the sheet music, as though trying to find his place and not finding it.

Slowly, he put down the pencil. His fingers were shaking.

"You've made remarkable progress. I'm so, so very impressed."

Yugi beamed. "No, thank you! That was amazing! I-I-I can't believe it could be so much fun to—you're such an amazing teacher, Mr. Atem!"

"Yami."

Yugi mentally stumbled. "What?"

"My name. Yami. You can call me that, if you like." And with the sound as though not wanting to go on to his next breath without explaining himself, he said, "if it makes you more comfortable to sing with a friend who is trying to help you rather than judge you, that is. Some students call me that."

Yugi frowned. She had never heard a student call him Yami before. Maybe it was some of the class clowns in the orchestra class..

"Though Mr. Atem is fine too!" he said. "Oh jeeze, I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

He was nervous. Worried he'd made her uncomfortable. Somehow the thought made her smile. Scary or not, he really was just like everyone else. In a way, that helped her feel a little better about her own social anxiety.

And for one of the very few times since classes started, Yugi let Mr. Atem catch her eye. He held it for a second longer than was comfortable, but dropped it as he stood.

"Better get home. Jim gets impatient."

Yugi cocked her head to the side. "Jim?"

"My cat." He straightened the music sheets and closed the piano. "Must say I prefer cats over people when it comes to living space. We're not too different in the regards that we can only take so much of the company of strangers."

"Sometimes the company of friends too," said Yugi.

"In that case, you best be off. You need all the solitude recharging time you can get, eh?" And the smile he gave her said he wasn't offended in the least.

But her mouth opened of its own accord. The words 'I wouldn't mind spending it with you' rose up to the back of her throat. She swallowed it down just in time, mortified. What was wrong with her?

"Be safe, Yugi."

"You too…Yami."


	5. If I Die

**My cat's name is Jim...**

 **Also, thank you so much for all your reviews. They've all been so nice! I hope you guys like this update as well.**

Chapter 5

"Woa, red flag."

Joey had her hands up in the air as though at a soccer game as she said this. She had thrown them up so quickly she almost tipped over onto Yugi's purple bed she was leaning against. Yugi frowned and tried not to catch a glimpse of the two kings and a three that Joey held in her hand. She made not winning so difficult sometimes.

"What are you freaking out about? And put down your hands already, I can see your cards."

"'Cause this teach is sound'n way too familiar for comfort. I could freak'n feel the sexual tension from here."

Yugi flushed. "There wasn't any sexual tension! He's just being a good teacher. Three nines." Yugi put the cards face down on the little pile in the middle.

"Bull shit!" said Joey, realizing a minute too late what she had just done. With a smirk, Yugi flipped over the cards, proving they were, indeed, exactly what she said they were. Joey groaned and reached to gather the cards into her already bulging hand. A pile of spare cards (so they could play BS without a third player), sat untouched on her other side.

"There isn't anything! I haven't even been able to call him by his first name again because it just feels too weird, but that doesn't mean anything."

"Fine, be in denial, I got more important things to talk to you about. Two tens."

"Like what? One eleven."

"Tea. She's been avoid'n us—well, more specifically you ever since Mr. Atem dropped her from those lessons. Two jacks."

Yugi frowned as she picked out her cards, a two and an ace. She had noticed a bit of stiffness in the way Tea greeted her in choir, but always wanted to give her friends the benefit of a doubt. She liked to believe that, if her friends had a problem with her, they'd tell her about it. They wanted her to fix it, didn't they? Wanted to stay friends?

Joey's comment, however, made something sick-like stir in her stomach.

"Two queens."

Joey didn't notice the lie and slapped down three cards. "Three kings. I'm pretty sure she's butt-hurt that Mr. Atem is keeping you all to himself—"

"Bull shit!"

"Well, he is."

"Joey, turn over your cards."

Joey did so, trying to not look too frustrated when she revealed that her third king was actually a four. As she gathered up even more cards, she said, "I have no problem if she unfriends us or whatever, but you know how she is. She's sure to raise a Disney-movie worthy drama-mama with Mai and cause all sorts o' crap."

Yugi wrinkled her nose. "Oh, come on, it's not like she's going to spread around the school that I'm having some sort of inappropriate affair with Mr. Atem just because I get voice lessons and she doesn't."

Yugi had meant it to be a joke; a huge exaggeration. At the seriousness on Joey's face, she slapped her forehead into her palm.

"Oh please."

"Hey! There's a reason I said it's a problem!"

"Two kings, and get back to the real world, Joey. Even if people like that do exist outside of _Mean Girls_ , this is Tea we're talking about. Our friend. Not to mention she's completely in love with Mr. Atem, why would she go through all that just to get him kicked out?"

"One ace. I'm just say'n—"

"Besides, what do you suggest I do? Quit my voice lessons?"

"Nah, but maybe we should send her a text or an email tonight, see what's up. She'll probably act like there ain't a problem, but at least she won't be lett'n it build and build until—'oy! What cards were those?"

"Three twos."

"Bull shit and you know it!"

For once, Yugi took the cards, but she had meant it that way. With all four aces in her hand, if the game went as planned…

"Sounds like a good enough plan. We'll send her a text."

"You'll send her a text. One three."

Yugi sighed. "Fine. Two fours."

"Bull shit!" Flip. "Aw man…"

As Joey grumbled away at her half a deck of cards, Yugi breathed a tense sigh. Good thing she didn't mention to Joey how she found Mr. Atem attractive. Joey would have a freak about Yugi going to get her heart broken on a teacher, but it wasn't like it was a big deal. Yugi saw attractive people all the time. That didn't mean she crushed on them or even fell in love. That seemed like something that grew over time with careful consideration and agency. She wasn't going to do anything stupid with her voice teacher, and it wasn't like he would go for anything stupid anyways. Someone that beautiful had to want someone equally beautiful.

Birds of a feather flocked together, after all.

Yugi successfully ignored the twinge of pain at the thought as she sent a short text to Tea while Joey grumbled.

When she didn't answer back, Joey said, "It isn't like she's that super close of a friend anyways. More like one of dem classmate friends, you know?"

"I guess so. Though why would you be concerned about her avoiding us then? Or me, I guess."

Joey snorted. "Because she's obvious. Does the whole glare and hair flip and everything. You're just too nice to notice. If it weren't for the fact that she's a complete gossip, I'd say good riddance. She's too prissy for us anyways."

Yugi felt a bit affronted by that. "I hope you aren't saying we're butches."

"Nah, I'm a butch. You're too sweet."

"No I'm not! Otherwise I would have defended Tea by now, you're being so mean."

"My point exactly."

"And, you know, it isn't so bad to be a girl."

Joey rolled her eyes and stuck one long, lean leg out on across the carpet. "Yeah, sure, whatev. Want to play Mortal Combat? That old Playstation of yours still works, right?"

Yugi grimaced. Maybe Joey did have a point. Tea was awfully…girly compared to them. Yugi took in her room and tried to measure out if she could tell what gender stayed in it, but all she could pick out was purple, her favorite color, and a mirror rimmed by hair clips that she used to control her wildly dyed hair. Other than that, it was a bookshelf full of sci-fi novels, CDs, and video games.

She thought of Mr. Atem and deflated a bit. If she weren't so small, he probably wouldn't even notice she was a girl. It wasn't like she had much in the way of breasts even. If she wore any kind of T-shirt that wasn't skin-tight, you wouldn't even see them at all. Unlike Joey, who, despite her long, lanky frame, had the body of a model rather than a man, even when she held down her own breasts with sport bras.

In a sudden urge to verify with herself of her own gender, she said, "Nah, let's do something new. Want to paint nails?"

Joey gave her a weird look. "Do you even own any fingernail polish?"

"Uh, I got some black and glow in the dark…from last Halloween."

Joey threw back her shaggy head and hooted with laughter. "Aw man. Look, Yug, it's not a bad thing to be a butch." Joey stilled abruptly. A bad vibe prickled her neck.

Sure enough, when her friends chin came down, a devilish, frightening smirk had split her face.

"You found yourself a boy, didn' ya?"

Yugi flinched. "J-Joey! It's just freaking fingernail polish!"

"You've been my friend since fourth grade, don't you dare try'n hide it."

"No! Really!"

"Fine then. Go get yer old sticky Halloween paints. Let's do this. I doubt you'll hold up."

Joey's smile didn't leave.

Yugi wanted to smash her head into the floor and never get up. But since that sounded borderline suicidal, she got up and locked herself in the bathroom for five minutes before returning with the fingernail polish, determined to not crack even a bit, even to Joey.

Ten minutes later, Joey was waltzing about the room as Mr. Atem and cracking up every time Yugi covered her eyes and blushed a deeper shade. It wasn't like she had a crush on him or anything, but Yugi so rarely said anything about the opposite sex being attractive. Joey knew that, but she couldn't let an opportunity to tease her mercilessly slide by.

"Oh, which reminds me, I think I know who is writing your poems."

Yugi latched onto the new subject like a lifeline. "Really? Who?"

Joey plopped onto the bed and folded her legs, smirking. "Seto Kaiba."

Yugi screwed up her face and pulled her hand back to observe her glow in the dark finger work. "Oh, please."

"Oh yes! Listen, it makes sense—"

"No it doesn't—"

"Yes it does! Opposites attract, right? Yer tiny, he's tall, and you're the only one who's ever beat'n him at…at anything, really, and everyone knows he pays way too much attention to you."

"Because he thinks I'm his rival. He wants to beat me one day."

"Or so he says! Honestly, who does that anymore? It's like a badly written anime. Pfft, rival."

Yugi blowed on her fingertips and rolled her eyes. "He didn't write them."

"What? Come on, why not?"

Well, Joey wasn't always the sharpest crayon in the box. Yugi leveled a look at her. "Because he likes you, numnuts."

The little bottle of black polish tipped across Joey's lap as she jerked the brush too hard. Cursing, she quickly picked it up, screwing it close, but the damage was done to Joey's pajama bottoms. Yugi jumped up to find something that would fit her tall friend. She found some pajama shorts that went to Yugi's knee, but acted just shy of booty shorts on Joey. The tall girl took a look at them in the mirror to make sure she didn't have some buttcheek hanging out (best not give Yugi's grandpa a heart attack if she should go downstairs) before sitting back down on the floor.

"Now you're just being stupid," she said. "The guy can't pass up a chance to be an ass to me. Some show of affection, unless you're ten."

"I didn't say he was mature about it," said Yugi, wrinkling her nose at her smudged pinky. Oh well.

"Guys are stupid. I hate them." Joey gave a theatrical sigh. "Why couldn't you be a dude, Yug? Then I could just marry you and get it over with."

Yugi laugh. They'd had this conversation before. "You'd have to be the dude. We both know I'd make one pathetic guy."

"And I can't be lesbian, because girls are gross." Joey wrinkled her nose.

"And God says no," says Yugi, trying not to laugh.

"Too bad nunneries are dead boring. Bet they wouldn't let you play Mortal Combat there. But really, it's Kaiba. Think about it, Yug."

But she didn't.

Eventually, even night owl Joey got bored of Mortal Combat and they turned in for the night. Before she turned off her bedside lamp, Yugi made a show of pulling out an English book so as to not draw Joey's attention. As she made a show of catching up in _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , she reread the lines of the poem she had managed to hide from her best friend's view. It wasn't embarrassing in the least, and she wasn't afraid of Joey mocking her. But there was just something else…something precious…and it just hadn't seem right to reveal such intimacy to a third party. Even as she reread them, something within her trembled and stole splotches of her breath.

 _"If I die_

 _and find no welcome_

 _at heaven's door,_

 _I will remember her voice_

 _and miss out_

 _on nothing._

 _Hell will hold no fire_

 _because her tongue_

 _carved words_

 _just for me,_

 _and her lips defy_

 _all temptations,_

 _except for that_

 _of a kiss."_


	6. What's Wrong?

**Please let me know what you think. :) I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 6

"What made you think I'd care if you got lessons alone with Mr. Atem?"

The words were spoken to Yugi in a hiss beneath the banging of the piano as Mr. Atem lectured the bass section. It was the Monday after the weekend with Joey, in which Tea hadn't bothered to respond to any of Yugi's texts.

"—just because you're in bass cleft doesn't give you an excuse to be tone deaf! Especially you, Tim, and yes, I can hear you—stop laughing, Boyd, you're not much better!" Mr. Atem had gone into demon teacher mode.

Yugi glanced to the side at Tea, who was looking at her with a mean little downturn of her pink-sparkled lips. She gulped.

"I-It was Joey, she thought you were avoiding me and that you'd be mad."

Tea sniffed. "Why? Because he thought my voice more perfect than yours? If anything, I thought you'd be mad at me for not being pulled back for extra lessons. I mean, if there's anything Mr. Atem can't stand, it's someone who is out of tune."

As though to verify her whispered words, Mr. Atem exploded, "What, do I have to pound out D? If you'd just put your damn phones away once in a while—oh fine, get over to the piano. You too, tenors."

"He has such talent," she said in a lighter voice, "for finding the best of voices even in a whole choir. You know what he said to me the other day?"

Yugi shook her head, not trusting herself to speak when Mr. Atem's displeased glare leveled on the soprano section and instructed them to work with the altos in the orchestra room, where there was a spare piano.

"He said he had picked out my voice from the rest and had wanted an excuse to hear it without seeming inappropriate, so he invited me in on the guise of teaching you." She stiffened and glanced down, rubbing her lips and looking concerned. "I'm not saying your bad, Yugi. You have quite a nice tone, it's just sometimes, when you sing high, you're quite out of tune. He wanted to clarify that without hurting your feelings. Two birds with one stone." She sighed as they stepped off the risers and followed the rest of the tiny crowd of sopranos and altos. "It's so sad that he's a teacher. If he shows any favoritism towards us it could be taken wrong. Do you remember when that janitor got locked up for getting caught with a freshman girl giving him a blowjob? Didn't she get pregnant too?"

Yugi didn't want to answer, not just because the subject of blowjobs in general made her want to run away worse than ever, but because an uncomfortable twist had come over her stomach, like a screw into her diaphragm. She had sung high notes in the tape and they had sounded in tune. During warm ups Mr. Atem always tried to push her higher, even assured her not to worry because she always sang in tune, which he said he appreciated. And if anything, Mr. Atem was more than vocal about her weaknesses, as that's what they worked on each lesson. Question was, why was Tea lying?

Even though she told herself she didn't care, it still wiggled uncomfortably in the back of her mind when Mr. Keith slapped a yardstick across his desk. Several students jumped.

It was his grim frown and bulging eyes that really snapped Yugi to attention, though.

"Hear I got some low-life whiners in here crying to their mommies about the way I do things," he growled. "Going to grow up to be fine well-fare trash, crying about injustices like that and hoping they get their way. Because of them I'm on probation and you lot get five pages added to your midterms. A crying shame, seeing as my class is the only one that gives you a taste of the real world."

For a brief, horrifying breath, Yugi thought those eyes flickered towards her and popped just a little bit more, but then they swept the other way and Mr. Keith went on about how, in the work field of 'the real world,' whiners got fired, and that no one should be trying to get him fired just because they got bad grades out of their own laziness.

A lot of what he said seemed to be rather jumbled to Yugi, and not unlike other rants Mr. Keith had given. But just in case it had anything to do with her, she stayed at attention and tried not to look too much the victim in her seat.

Eventually he got on to Othello once more, which they were just finishing up, and Yugi dared to relax. Class ended, and she could hardly wait to be out the door and to voice lessons, where she could sing away the fear of the day.

Then he called her name.

Yugi stood still as the last of the students flowed passed her. She didn't look back, she couldn't. A paranoid twittering in her brain told her that, should she see his face, all her fear would show through and he'd just get even angrier, or worse, laugh. Her coward ways never ceased to amuse her English teacher.

The door clicked shut.

"Get over here, shrimp."

Her knees stuck, then wobbled as she turned with a quick swish of her little skirt. Her hands had turned to ice.

Mr. Keith loomed larger than ever in front of her, a tower of muscle and too tight school T-shirt.

Then he lowered his face down to her level, having to bend in half just to do so. His breath smelled rancid, of socks and old Pepsi.

"You've been mighty unfair towards me, little girl, don't you think? Come on. Use your words."

"I-I-I don't k-know sir." He wore gym shorts, and it was disgusting, because gym shorts weren't made to hide a man this big. She averted her eyes, a new, darker fear surfacing from the back of her mind.

"I tried to help you grow some spine, get over that cute little st-st-st-stutter of yours, and you go spread stories to your weirdo gay choir teacher. I'm hurt."

Yugi couldn't breathe. Her knees wouldn't stop.

"Now, I want you to apologize. If you're sweet enough to me, I'll let it go." He breathed a low chuckle. More rancid old pop and BO. "Come on. See if you cannot stutter."

Stuttering was the least of her concern, as her voice had vanished.

"Come on, sweet. Say sorry."

One of those large fingers tapped her chin up. Its sheer size was enough to bump up her face in direct gaze of the bloodshot, popping blue eyes.

It came out of her reflexively. "Sorry!"

He seemed pleased. "Good. And, just so we're on the same page, if I hear anymore of your cry whining…"

The finger ran lower. Lower. Then in between her tiny breasts.

"I'm going to need a better apology to let you off the hook. Now, off you go."

The big hand pinched her shoulder to twist her round, where he batted her on the butt and out the door. She didn't think her sweaty hand would hold the handle, but it did, and suddenly she was out in the hallway where the last of the students milled about their lockers talking. Like a robot she marched to the choir room. She couldn't let it show. She couldn't let the others see. She couldn't let him hear—couldn't cause a scene. She should skip lessons today and just go straight home. If she went as she was now, Yami would see, Yami would tell. Why had he told last time? Hadn't he gotten the hint that she hadn't been asking for protection?

But there seemed to be a disconnect between her body and her brain. While her brain calmly instructed her to put one foot in front of the other and go through those double doors and outside the school, her feet turned into the choir room.

Mr. Atem sat at the piano as usual, this time plucking out a line from their choir accompaniment. He twisted round to greet her, fingers still playing.

"Hello, Yugi. I've got a great lessons set out for…" his fingers froze. The music fell silent.

The door shut off the talking outside, plunging the room into silence.

Yugi could hear the clock ticking.

"What's wrong?"

The dam inside her was breaking at a phenomenal rate now. She shouldn't be here, he would see, she hadn't even put up a fight—she could handle this on her own, she didn't need a knight—Mr. Keith was still in the building-

And the line he had traced from her chin to her bellybutton burned. It made her feel icky. So very, very icky.

Mr. Atem stood up. "Yugi?"

 _Snap._

It was the fight or flight response. Yugi ran. The short space between her and that tiny, foam lined studio vanished in a blink of an eye. She slammed the door behind her, plunging the room into darkness. Her fingers trembled as they found the button lock and pushed it in.

There was a thump on the other side of the door. Above her racing heartbeat she heard, "Lord! Yugi! What happened? Please, tell me!"

He tried other comforting words that she didn't really register as she had backed away, hoping to suck in the darkness, hoping to suck in the quiet and stop herself from screaming. Somehow, distantly, she knew she had started to cry, but she was too focused on trying to make herself breathe. Her head spun. She felt dizzy.

She rubbed the line between her breasts. His finger had been so big. She had been so small. It would go—he had heard—

Mr. Atem's pleas fell silent mid-word. In the dead silence she thought she heard a door click shut.

She slapped her hands over her mouth when a booming, all too familiar voice wheedled its way through the sound-proof walls.

"Hey, just looking for that Yugi girl, she left behind her bag in my classroom. Heard she went in here."


	7. Tattle Tale

**Here's your weekly update! And if you guys want directions to getting discounted prices on my book before it hits the shelves, check out my profile or send me a message! I'll be glad to point you in the right direction.**

 **It's an ancient Egyptian romance. *wiggles eyebrows* with a pharaoh...and time travel from the future...and zombies...**

Chapter 7

Yugi started to hyperventilate. This had to be a nightmare; nothing could go this wrong so quickly. Mr. Atem would make the connection between her reaction and Mr. Keith's arrival, he would say something, Mr. Keith would know, Mr. Keith would…Mr. Keith would….

"No. She must have walked through while I was in my office."

Yugi froze.

"Ah. Guess I'll just take this to the front office then."

 _Don't tell him I come here, don't tell me about our lessons,_ she begged quietly. If he knew, he could wait for her after school-know where she went when all the students went home.

But Mr. Atem said nothing.

"Thanks. Have a good day," said Mr. Keith.

"You too."

Quiet. Another distant hint of a click.

…was he gone?

So dizzy. She had to breathe. She lowered her hand and chanced a breath which came in as a loud, harsh suck. Her head steadied, but her stomach cramped.

Just as she was thinking she had escaped passing out, a loud scrape of keys at the door made her jump. Then it opened, blinding her.

A warm hand wrapped about her forearm and pulled her whole body out of the dark. Before her eyes could adjust she found herself in the firm grasp of Mr. Atem, who held her up and ducked his head to level his sharp, serious gaze into hers.

"He's gone. It's okay."

Yugi blinked, dazed. His face was so close, so…nice. He really did look like a rock star, the nice kind, not the Kiss kind.

"What happened?"

At first, she didn't process the words. Before she could figure out the safest answer, her mouth started to blubber on its own.

"Why did you tell him? Why did you say anything—I-I-I didn't mean for him t-to—he was so mad, so scary, and then he touched me and said—oh, God, please don't say anything about this, please, don't let him know—"

"Wait, he touched you?"

The knife-like fury in his tone frightened her into deeper hysterias. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I turned and I left, I didn't mean to throw up—d-d-don't tell, don't tell, please—"

"How did he touch you?"

"-he said his class is l-like the real world and I—please, he's so much bigger than me and i-i-it would—it would—"

"Yugi, calm down and just answer the question."

"It w-wasn't anything—it wasn't anything—"

He shook her—hard. "Yugi!"

She snapped her jaw closed, just to open it as she once more fought for breath. Still wearing that terrifying mask, he pushed her to one of the steps of the choir rise and into a sitting position, where he told her to put her head between her knees. She did so. After a few minutes to the calming tick of the classroom clock she found her breath growing slower, deeper, and the screaming in her head starting to die.

At last, his warm hand left her shoulder and through her ankles she could see his leather boots. He had squatted down in front of her. Her face was wet and her nose felt stuffy. She could taste salt, and maybe a bit of snot. Aw jeeze, she must be such a mess. How could she ever face him now?

Then she realized she was in a skirt and quickly closed her knees, red-hot in a full on body blush.

"Can you please answer my question? It's very important."

Yugi shuddered. "I-it wasn't anything."

"It was something if you mentioned it. It's okay, I won't tell him, nor will I think you're silly. Did he threaten you?"

Yugi stayed silent.

"Yugi…please."

"I can't. You'll get me in trouble."

"I didn't mean to get you—I was trying to protect you. I'm sorry I didn't think of this." Was that pain she heard? "But I still need to hear what happened. Please, Yugi, you gave me a heart attack, you looked so…"

When the quiet stretched on till it nearly broke the comfortable range, Yugi took a deep breath. He wouldn't let her go unless she spoke. It was probably the right thing to do anyways, right? Or was there even a right thing to do in this sort of situation?

So she told him, quietly, and with a lot of stuttering and chattering of her teeth as she trembled. He didn't speak a word, and for that she was glad, for if he stopped her before she was finished she wasn't sure if she could start up again.

"I'm probably freaking out over nothing," she concluded.

"Don't."

After so long of quiet, the snap caused her to bite her tongue. Owie.

Leaving him to say, "you have every reason to be afraid. He's a bully who has authority over you, and an adult at that, and he more or less threatened to molest you if you even hinted to anyone that he was—was sexually harassing you. Besides, you didn't complain about him to me. You merely stated the facts of the way he treated you. If anyone is overreacting, he is."

She sniffed and dared to look up, even though her face would be a puffy monstrosity. "Really?"

"Yes. Most bullies do. Has to do with how extremely vulnerable they feel to the world. Pathetic."

Now that she could see his face again, she found it difficult to look away, even with the remains of that scary, furious look still sharpening his features. Tea was right. How could someone so handsome manage to look so intimidating?

"Do you wear contacts?"

He looked down at her in surprise. "What?"

She blushed and ducked her head. "Your eyes. I was just wondering…"

"Oh. No, I don't wear contacts. They're real, believe it or not. Though I was wondering the same thing about you."

"What? Contacts?"

"Yeah. I've never seen such bright purple, and I thought that, well, if you were daring enough with your hair…?"

She smiled at her hands. "No. They're real too. I did try contacts once, though, to make them more normal. Ended up scratching them out and my eyes swelled up."

"Probably a good thing."

"Why? Are contacts bad for you?"

"Not at all," he said quickly before standing up with a low groan as his knees popped. "I doubt you're up to any singing today. Would you like a ride home? I don't feel entirely comfortable leaving you on your own with that dick holding wrestling practice next door…"

Her heart leapt. All alone in a car with Mr. Atem—then shook herself. What a ridiculous thought. He was her teacher!

But…a ride would be very nice, as the idea of walking home on her still-shaky knees didn't sound appealing.

Thus, Mr. Atem walked her to the office where they picked up her bag and then led her outside to a nondescript, green Dodge Neon.

"C-could you, um, not say anything?"

He gave her a look, which she dodged by putting the car between them. Once she was in the passenger seat, however, there was no escape.

"About Keith?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to look up. The car smelled of vanilla, and besides an empty refill mug left in the cup holder, was relatively clean. She put her bag between her feet.

"Are you going to give in to his threat, then?"

Yugi shivered. "I-I don't want to cause t-trouble—"

"He's the one causing trouble, you would be doing what is right."

"But I'd just be doing what he says—tattle telling."

He frowned so deep that his eyebrows nearly made a perfect, angry V. She twisted around even more so she wouldn't see it, not even out of the corner of her eye.

Mr. Atem closed his door and started the engine. It came up with a well-oiled purr, which impressed her. The car had to be at least twenty years old. She wondered if it was because he babied it or because he had just gotten it that way.

"I thought you'd be old enough to know the difference between tattle telling and standing up for yourself. If you ask me to promise not to tell, I can't do that, because I can't let a bully like that get away with treating his students, let alone children, like that."

Inwardly she flinched a bit when he said 'children.' That's right. He saw her, especially her, as a child because she was all too aware of how tiny she was. Many had mistaken her for being several years younger than she really was. And he saw the rest of her peers as children as well. But they were that, weren't they? Until they graduated. Why did that bother her so much?

But Mr. Atem was still talking, and he was checking both ways before pulling the Neon out of the school parking lot and into traffic. "But you do have a point. I'm not the one who should say anything. You should be the one to report him."

Her stomach plummeted. "No!"

"Yes," he said, leveling that V-eyebrow look at her as he stopped at a red light. "Do you like how he treats you? Are you really okay with him getting away with that?"

To this, she could only drop her gaze to her feet. "I'll be okay. It's not like he's hurting me, and it's only for what's left of the school year."

He fell quiet, and she wondered if he was angry or frustrated with her. When she dared to squeeze a glance at him as he turned onto the highway, she saw that, though the frustration was there, the V was gone to be replaced with something…sad?

"How about if he did this to another kid? You said yourself that you didn't blame that wrestler for how he reacted to you. What if he was doing something similar to him?"

Yugi recoiled. Mr. Atem nodded at her reaction, then asked where her house was, which she gave through the stuttering of her own thoughts and feelings.

"What if there were more kids like you who needed someone to stand up for them? What if they're just like you, but they don't have someone like me to tell Keith to go away, that they weren't there, or just to tell them it's not their fault?"

Yugi didn't want to think it, or else her next words would make her cry. "But what can I do? I'll probably just throw up again if I try to talk about it, and what if they don't believe me?" She already knew the answer to that. If they didn't believe her and told her she was silly, Mr. Keith would hear about it, and this time there would be nowhere to run to.

She desperately hoped she was being paranoid.

"Then find someone else to go with you, someone else who Mr. Keith has mistreated." At the smile on his face, Yugi recoiled even further. She knew instantly who he was talking about.

"But I don't even know his name!"

"Then find it."

"But what if I s-s-c-clam up, or—or—"

"Then write him a letter." Mr. Atem sighed and clicked on his turn signal to switch lanes. "Look, I'm not trying to make you do anything, please believe me. But if you don't do it, I will. This time I'll learn from my mistakes, though, and be sure to talk to your parents beforehand so you're home and not in his range when he gets the news. I know that would be easier on you, but I said I'd try and help you to not be so shy anymore."

"You mean not be a freaking coward," she muttered at the window.

"There is no crime in being afraid. Everyone has fears, and bravery isn't the lack of fears. It's choosing to act in spite of your fears. That's all it is. Making the choice and following through."

"So, you're saying if I go ahead and report Mr. Keith, even though I'm afraid of," she looked to the ceiling, "everything…that I'll learn to be brave?"

"It will _be_ brave. It's not that complicated."

"I-I don't t-think you…" she couldn't say that, not after how nice he was being. But Yugi felt more than a little frustrated with Mr. Atem. How could he make it sound so simple when it was anything but? Puking in front of a crowd of people hadn't happened for the first time in Mr. Keith's class. It had happened long before that. It always started when you were little, the fear, when that first big person proved just how wrong and pitiful you could be.

Did he really understand what he was asking of her? The idea meant she'd have to imagine him being afraid, and that just didn't compute in her mind. She couldn't even imagine what his face might look like if he was afraid, or just what he would be afraid of. Even dressed everyday in his button up shirts and slacks, he wore leather jewelry and boots, had his hair done up in crazy tri-colored spikes, and had a glaring attitude that dared anyone to make him care about what they thought. Trying to think of him afraid was like trying to imagine Rambo being afraid.

Not to mention he was a male teacher with the strength to shove a teenage boy bigger than him up a locker, while she was a tiny, tiny girl who barely managed to force herself to go to school rather than lock herself up in her closet.

…No…he couldn't understand. But Yugi could understand that he was just trying to help.

When he pulled into the little gameshop her grandpa owned, which had their little apartment above it, she immediately saw the closed sign and groaned.

"What is it?"

"Shop's closed. It shouldn't be." After school was when most of grandpa's customers came in: kids. She got out to get a closer look at the yellow card left for her underneath the sign.

 _Yugi,_

 _Your mother has to stay late for a business meeting and an old friend of mine has just arrived in town. Dinner is in the fridge. Don't wait up for us and be safe._

 _Grandpa_

"What is it?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Mr. Atem had followed her up to the door. His little green Neon hummed behind him.

"Nothing," she said.

It only took him a second to take in the note. She wondered if she should put it in her pocket already, but a faint sense of dread she only half understood was creeping into her stomach. The one day she needed someone to be home, to reassure her, to talk to, or to just distract her from her own thoughts, and she was alone. Some crazy part of her wondered if Mr. Keith knew where she lived and she almost laughed out loud. Of course not. But it didn't help the paranoid part of her not run away with the idea.

"Huh," he said, hesitating as though conflicted with something. At least he had backed off.

Yugi shifted uncomfortably. What was it he was thinking about to look at her like that? As though regretting bringing her here? "Guess this is good-bye. Thanks a lot for the ride," she said.

"No problem…actually, Yugi, if you have nothing to do," he hesitated again, but pushed on, "you could always check out a little musical fair of sorts at the park not far from here. That is, if you'd rather not have a bunch of time alone with nothing but homework to distract you."

Now that was just a little bit unnerving. How had he known she had been thinking about just that?

"A music fair? I've never heard of anything around this time."

"Well, you wouldn't. It's a bit of a, um, underground bohemian sort of thing." He gave her a smile which brought the word 'dashing' to her mind, along with the threat of a blush. "I was planning on going there after our lessons anyways. If you don't mind, I could give you a ride. If not, I can just give you directions. I think you'd really like it. There's a lot of local artists that will be there."

Suddenly, Yugi wanted nothing more than to go. She didn't know what she imagined, and she didn't like crowds, but if there were a spot somewhere underneath a tree she could hide and just listen to all that music…

Thus, she found herself slipping back into Mr. Atem's car and vaguely feeling like she was doing something wrong. But the park he told her about wasn't that far away at all, and she had left a note for her grandfather on the back of the yellow card as to where she had went. Why should she feel nervous?

 _Dude, he's your teacher_ , said a voice that sounded too much like Joey.

 _This isn't a date,_ she told the voice.

 _But it never really starts with a date, does it?_


	8. Courage in a Park

**I believe this is a pivotal chapter for the whole story, so pay close attention. In the meantime, I'll let you guys know when my Egyptian novel is available on Amazon and at bookstores and whatnot. They're taking freaking forever. Wish they had told me this fine line print when the book was released. Blegh.**

Chapter 8

The moment she opened the door she was washed by a clean breeze carrying the scent of freshly mowed grass and the promise of evening. She had been coming to this park every since she was a little child, but the thrum of quiet songs and gentle murmur of conversation transformed it more than the Christmas lights hanging in lazy loops on the lowest branches of the trees. Under each tree was a circle of people on some quilts, and in every circle there was at least one instrument, almost always a guitar or flute, though she thought she spotted a violin, an accordion, an a set of bongos. A straggle of children played on the old sun bleached play set nearby.

She took another breath, and suddenly the chill of late September vanished and summer returned. A summer night, filled with that same musk…

And music. Singing, guitars, flutes, talking, laughing…

She almost forgot to be nervous.

"Like it?" he said, though the grin told her he already knew she did. "Follow me, I got some friends I'd like to introduce you to."

"How long has this been going for? Why are they here?" she asked as she followed down the gentle slope from the parking lot.

"It's been going on ever since I can remember," he said. "As for why? Because they like music without all the fanfare. This was what is was usually used for, you know that?"

"Used for what?"

He gave a vague gesture over the gathered people and soft white Christmas lights. "Communion. Expression. Connection."

She wasn't sure she followed, but she thought she could understand. Music without all the flashy lights and publicity, she figured.

"'Ey! Yami!"

Mr. Atem waved as an older, squat man with wild salt and pepper hair waved at him, a russet rotund guitar tucked against his chest. A small group of people turned around and waved at them at his greeting.

"Holy blessed Mary, did you finally get yourself a girlfriend? Please say yes," said the graying man.

Mr. Atem laughed while Yugi blushed furiously.

"She's a student of mine. I thought I'd bring her here for a lesson."

"And what, you thought you'd make me do the work for you?"

"Something along the lines of that."

A few people chuckled as the man made a show of being right and straightening out his plaid lumberjack shirt. They scooted to the side on the blanket for Yugi and Atem to sit down at. There could have been ten people total, twelve now with Yugi and her teacher.

"So," said the guitarist, a hand to his beard. "Care to introduce us good-for-nothing Nephew?"

"This is Yugi. Yugi, this is my good-for-nothing Uncle Simeon. He's taught me a thing or two about music."

"Practically everything he knows," Uncle Simeon said with a sniff. "Though, I've got to say, I'm really digging the hair. Change of color here and a snip there and she could be your mini-me, couldn't she? You didn't convince her to do her hair like that, did you?"

Yugi put a hand on her head self-consciously.

"I've got better things to do then make speeches on hair color," said Atem.

"Alright. Well, what am I suppose to be teaching her?"

"Music." Atem made another vague gesture. "So teach."

A few more people laughed and Yugi smiled sheepishly. She could feel the eyes on her now, but whenever she met a pair it was atop a kind smile. Somewhere off to their right, a violin started up in a jolly jig, which was followed by a cheer and clapping to the beat.

Simeon, however, had a finger and thumb to his beard, eyeing her thoughtfully. She tried to meet his gaze the best she could, but it didn't last long before she was reduced to staring at her shoes again.

"No need to be afraid of me, little one. My bark is worse than my bite. What kind of music do you like?"

She looked to Atem for answers, but he just grinned in encouragement. She forced her chin up to the older man.

"Um…well I like old rock and…some blue jazz. And sometimes a little, uh…" she felt her face heat up. "Blue grass."

He didn't laugh though. In fact, he beamed. "Wonderful! Just what I like! Know Billy Joel?"

That perked her up. "Who doesn't?"

More chuckles. One of the women said, "Play us some Billy Joel, Simeon."

"Yeah, something sweet and slow," said another.

"I'm sweet and slow enough, at my age. Nah, I'm playing something that will actually help, rude young'ns."

Those in the crowd weren't entirely young. Two looked even older than him, but they just laughed as he screwed up his face in thought. Then, with a wide smile, he settled against his rotund guitar and eased into some chords. The hum of strings were soft, nylon, Yugi supposed, though not quiet. They eased into each other, but picked into quick, easy beat that instantly got a few in the group clapping along.

And then he broke into the words in a beautiful, lilting tenor.

 _"Come out Virginia, don't let 'em wait  
You Catholic girls start much too late  
Aw but sooner or later it comes down to faith  
Oh I might as well be the one."_

Yugi perked up, feeling her cheeks ball up in a smile. She knew this song! And the old man—he sounded wonderful! Happy, years younger, and the tiny lights above them seemed to warm and brighten.

Atem started to clap and sing along in harmony with a few others, making his uncle's smile grown.

But Yugi didn't feel her own throat start to hum along until the old man threw back his head and hooted into the chorus of 'only the good die young!'

In a breath between notes he muttered, just loud enough for them to hear, "sure hope I'm wicked as sin, then."

" _So, come on, Virginia, show me a sign  
Send up a signal I'll throw you the line  
The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind  
Never lets in the sun  
Darling, only the good die young!"_

Now the rest of the group was singing, along with Yugi, who could hardly hear herself from the rest of the voices, and found that the most fun of all.

Soon, another group joined in, bringing in a harmonica for a sax (they could do that?), a fiddle joining in a spontaneous harmony that only worked two thirds of the time, and the according blaring the chords along with the guitar. It definitely wasn't record quality anymore, but to Yugi, she had never before heard anything more beautiful and remarkable before. It wasn't the sound over the headphones anymore. It wasn't one person making music. It was many becoming one person. Yugi had never before realized how lonely she had been, or how cold it had been to be just one soul.

But for the first time in her life, she could feel the heart of people next to her, feel their same joy, singing the same words as her, thinking the same way, feeling the same way, all experimenting and following along with the older man underneath the tree. It was almost too good to be real. Didn't this only happen in movies?

For the first time in her life, in a group of people, Yugi wasn't afraid. Rather, she never wanted to go back into her closet again.

They all seemed to finish at different times, trailing off into spare verses, singing, but before the sporadic harmonica ran out of breath Uncle Simeon roared out in mock anger, "can't I just have my moment without all ya butt'n in? Good Lord!"

They all laughed back, some shouting that, no, he couldn't have his moment.

"Yeah, you start, we're all coming in."

Uncle Simeon looked at the accordionist who had spoken. "And you, what kind of harmony was that, you big copycat?"

"Hey, accordions are closer to pianos than guitars anyways."

"Sure. Though Mandy, that harmonica, woo! Didn't expect any less from you."

"I don't know, I only knew where to go by listening to Yami. Awesome at finding his notes, per usual."

Mr. Atem acted to look embarrassed, but even Yugi could tell he was pleased.

At some point the chatter finally died down and the other instrumentalists wandered back to their trees, Uncle Simeon returned his gaze to Yugi.

"So, learn enough?" he said.

"What was I suppose to learn?" she asked.

The old man slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh bother, what's that dumb nephew of mine teaching you these days? Alright, I'll make it simple: did that make you happy?"

Instantly, she felt she could burst. Her face hurt from the force of her smile and she nearly hopped up with the force of her "Yes!"

Mr. Atem fidgeted next to her. Uncle Simeon gave him an interesting look she couldn't read, however, before asking his next question, "Why did it make you happy? And don't tell me just because it was fun, that's a dummy answer."

She opened her mouth, but find she, for once, had too much to say. Why did it make her happy? The sound, the pound, like sharing a heartbeat, not being alone, everyone celebrating, celebrating that they were alive, that only the good die young and—hey, we all like Billy Joel? And…

Then it came to her. "We were together. More together than we could ever be."

"I think the word you were looking for is intimate," said the woman from before. "All human beings need to connect with another, be intimate, know they're not alone. Expression."

"Poetry down, Shauna."

"Shut up."

Uncle Simeon nodded. "I like that. Music is like making love without all the naked mess."

Yugi's face flamed and Atem spluttered, "Uncle, she's a minor."

"What, you don't think high school kids don't think about sex? Some deluded teacher you are." And speaking over his nephew's protests, he asked Yugi, "And how does that help us be better musicians?"

Yugi thought hard as she tried to push down her blush. "Um, well, what's the point of making music if you don't want it?"

"If you don't love it," corrected Simeon. "And now, since I want you to think on that and not have to spoon feed you, how about we give someone else a turn, eh? I want us to be all sexed out by the time we head in for the night."

"Uncle," groaned Mr. Atem amidst the hooting of the others.

By the time Yugi started to admit that she should head home, night had come, a few people had already left, and her throat was sore from singing and talking. She had never before felt so relaxed and comfortable in her own skin till then. Yes she was still the more reserved of the group, but she found she could speak without stuttering or overanalyzing what she said before hand. And when Mr. Atem offered to give her a ride home, she didn't agonize over what she had said or wondered if she should had said things differently.

Before they left, Uncle Simeon pushed himself to his feet and pulled Mr. Atem aside. Yugi watched, trying not to appear like she was eavesdropping as she tried to guess what they were talking about by their faces. At one time they did glance her way and she flinched to face another directions.

When Mr. Atem returned, however, he was just as relaxed as before. He opened the car door for her this time and then slid into the other side as she inhaled the vanilla inside. Strange, she couldn't see an air freshener. And now that she had a second whiff, it wasn't entirely vanilla. Something else, something like musk, underlined it all.

"Do you hate being you right now, Yugi?"

She turned to frown at him as he turned on the car and pull out. Strange he should ask that.

But now that she thought about it, "No."

"Do you feel afraid?"

She blinked. "No."

"Now, wouldn't that be great if you could make everyone feel like that?" And with a small, soft smile that framed a strange heat into his eyes she couldn't understand, but made her feel embarrassed, he said, "Isn't music great?"

Yes. Yes it was.


	9. I Saw Light

**I was feeling really lonely. My house is dark and quiet, my baby is asleep, my husband's at work, and my anxiety has really been getting to me all day. I live far away from town, up in a forest, and while this usually gives me comfort, tonight being away from people kind of hurts. I wanted to reach somebody, so I thought I'd put up this extra posting. You get a story, and I get the warmth of knowing somewhere, out there, there's somebody who can hear me. Maybe it will help.**

Chapter 9

 _"I saw light,_

 _where I thought no more_

 _could shine._

 _Precious, seamless,_

 _just stand and dance_

 _to the music your breath_

 _tells you to._

 _I won't laugh,_

 _but will stay_

 _far away_

 _so as to not capture your skirts_

 _your ankles, your skin,_

 _your breath_

 _with my fingers,_

 _oh, the light…"_

Yugi didn't have the chance to hide away this poem before Joey could see. For once it didn't pay to have her best friend's locker close to hers.

Joey gave a low whistle. "He's hankering for you in a bad way. See dat?" She jabbed the paper with a finger. "'Skin.' He wrote 'skin.'"

Yugi pushed Joey's head away and flapped her hands to keep it that way. "Stop making it weird!"

"I'm not. He's da one who wrote it. 'So as to not capture your skin, your breath, with my fingers'—please, doesn't that just scream groping?" Then, at the growing red on her friend's face, Joey's mouth curved into a mischievous grin. "He wants to get ya naked, he wants to touuuuch you—"

"Joey—"

"—hold you—"

"Jo _eeey!_ "

"— _dooo_ you!"

Yugi slapped her across the shoulder, hard. Once more, her easily blood affected face was hot. Ugh.

"I told you to stop! Do you want me to stay single forever?"

"Maybe," she said with a grin. "I don't think any raunchy perverted man could ever be worthy of my pure Yug, and it'd be unnecessary stress to follow you around all the time. Why can't you just wait till you're thirty-five like any good daughter?"

"Because you're not my dad."

"That's beside the point here." Joey peeked into Yugi's locker while she took out the book she needed and stuffed the rest of her things in there. "So, any ideas as to who it is? Besides Kaiba, of course."

Yugi groaned. "For the last time, it isn't Kaiba."

"I don't much appreciate others gossiping about me."

Both Yugi and Joey flinched, though Joey did so with a colorful curse. Seto Kaiba stood not a few feet behind them, leaning against the lockers on the other side of the hall and smirking through the crowd at them. A few students gave him and Joey annoyed looks as they passed.

Joey growled. "You know, breaking into other people's conversations is considered rude in polite society."

"Good thing this is high school, then. Hardly qualifies as polite society." He pushed off from the lockers and weaved through to them, where he made no signs of leaving anytime soon. "What's this about me?"

"Why do you care, asshole?"

"Language, puppy."

"I'm not a dog!"

Yugi sighed. It hadn't even been a full minute and it was already getting old. "Joey thinks you're writing love poems to me."

Joey glared at her. Seto just stared for a beat, then threw his head back in what Joey christened his 'evil villain' laugh.

"Oh please, this shrimp, mutt? Are you serious? I can't even talk to her without dropping my face down to my navel."

"Don't talk about my friend like that!"

"Oh, do you need me to be more blunt for your little brain?"

"I'm plenty intelligent, you jerkweed! Did you write the poems or not?"

Seto smacked his forehead. "Wow."

"Yes or no! Or is that too hard for yer rich ass—"

"No."

"Was that so hard?"

"Very, seeing as I'm flabbergasted as to how even an idiot like you came up with an idea like that. The very idea of liking your shrimp friend makes me feel like a pedophile." Seto leveled those blue eyes on Yugi. "You are seventeen, right?"

Joey threw her hands in the air. "That's it. You and me after school, behind the gym. Winner keeps their jaw intact."

"Sorry, I don't fight girls."

"Like hell you do!"

Neither of them had noticed the small crowd of students they were attracting, though Yugi had and was desperately looking for a covert way to wriggle out without catching anyone's attention. At Joey's roar, however, the attention of the last person she wanted zoomed in on them.

They came in another too-tight t-shirt and American flag bandana. The blond teacher sneered at the two. Seto had had the mind to shut up on seeing him, but Joey was still shouting about Seto being too chicken to lose to her and have her publicize his humiliation to the whole school.

Yugi's toes curled up into raisins as Mr. Keith's gaze ran over her.

"Why don't you just punch the chick already?" he said to the tall boy.

Kaiba stared. "Sir?"

"Go for it. Maybe that will finally shut her up."

Now Joey was staring too. The scattered crowd of onlookers fell quiet.

"I'm waiting."

"But, sir," Kaiba had never looked so flustered. "Wouldn't I get expelled?"

Here, Keith grinned. "Probably, but so would she. Don't remember a time when that butch didn't punch back. I don't even really know if she is a girl."

Yugi's breath caught, not in surprise, but in sudden, uncontrollable rage. Sure Joey joked all the time about how much she hated being a girl, how she avoided anything prissy at all costs, and she even called herself a butch. But the fact someone like Mr. Keith should dare say that to her face—

But before Yugi could think of what to do, before Yugi could do more than take a step forward, Seto beat her to the punch.

Literally.

Mr. Keith stumbled a bit from the force, eyes wide in shock, a hand to his face. The entire hallway gasped as one. Joey looked almost more surprised than Mr. Keith.

Seto Kaiba brought his curled fist back to him, shaking, face flushed, and teeth bared.

"You call yourself a teacher?"

Moving as though the cogs in his head had jammed, Mr. Keith straightened and leveled his narrowed gaze on the tall, lanky student.

"Why you little punk…"

Just then, a few other adults moved through, having finally noticed the commotion clogging up the hallway. They shouted a good deal to disperse the kids, but halted on finding Mr. Keith with a growing red bruise on his face and a very angry model student.

"What went on here?" asked a female Chemistry teacher.

"Mr. Kaiba here just punched me in the face," said Mr. Keith. "He was fighting with the tall girl and then punched me when I tried to resolve it."

Joey and Yugi just stood there, probably knowing they should say something but still too surprised.

The other teacher's expressions mixed with shock and displeasure. "Really? Is this true, Seto?"

"Yes," he said, without hesitation.

"Then I suppose you should come with us to the office. A call to your parents are in order. Mr. Keith, can you write up a report?"

"I'll be more than happy to."

As the group walked away, Seto spared a brief glance at Joey before facing forward and following the teachers as though they were escorting him to be crowned as king of the whole school rather than to be disciplined. Yugi couldn't help but think just how like him that was.

The bell rang, scattering the last onlookers.

Joey and Yugi exchanged a look.

"Did moneybags just…defend me?" asked Joey.

Yugi, feeling a bit light headed from the drama, just closed her locker and gave her friend a 'I told you so' smile.

"See you in Biology?"

"Yeah," Joey said faintly. "Yeah. Biology."


	10. Secrets

**Thank you for all your kind reviews and emails. I didn't expect so many nice words to be dropped by just because I wasn't feeling to hot. ^.^ Though it makes me even more glad that I can provide the same for some of you when you're not feeling too great either by telling you a story. But stories make everything better, don't they?**

 **And also thank you many guest reviewers. I'd respond to your reviews, but unfortunately being a guest reviewer prevents me from responding, since there is no where to send the message. But here's a hi and thank you to all of you! I'm so happy you're enjoying yourself. ^.^ I hope you know that I wish the best for you and want my stories to be a warm place you can return to when you have a bad day.**

Chapter 10

Wednesday brought her afterschool voice lessons. Mondays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays if Mr. Atem deemed it necessary. So far he hadn't.

Today he practically skipped to Yugi when she came into the choir room and dropped her backpack by the door.

"I found a song for you!"

He drew her to the piano out of excitement, and the title she saw on the music sheets he had looked very familiar, though she couldn't quite place the melody in her head. Before she could ask why he had picked such a modern song for her to just practice when he started to play, and she remembered.

 _Secrets_ , by One Republic.

"Oh!" she said.

"I thought you'd recognize it," he said. "I saw it and instantly thought of you. You ready to tackle this today?"

She felt some apprehension, an unease that she thought she had already dealt with, but nodded. She had been able to sing to him before, hadn't she? She shouldn't be afraid now, of all times.

And yet, the further she went into warm ups, covering her face in embarrassment as she lip buzzed, memories from the day before in this same room started to crop up. Mr. Keith, the way she had fallen apart, how he had sat her down, how he had saved her from the wrestler then tended her wounds.

Something very strange was going on. Her chest started to burn, but no unpleasantly. It did, however, tighten her throat till it closed off completely and she became uncomprehensibly shy once more. He must think her so pathetic, so weak, like a little girl who always had to be saved.

And there was nothing she could do to change that.

He looked over when she failed to finish the scale and his fingers paused.

"You okay?"

She nodded, but couldn't respond. Even speaking stuck to her throat. This was different from ordinary nerves, and yet the result was the same. Her knees shook and her neck felt hot.

Mr. Atem frowned in concern.

"What are you afraid of?"

Everything. Him. Mr. Keith. Herself. Life.

…she really hated herself; this cowardly, tiny thing that couldn't help but freeze up just because she was embarrassed about being a damsel in distress and confused as to why she suddenly wanted to sit next to him and never move, yet run far away at the same time.

She swallowed hard. She couldn't be like this.

With a ball of effort, she gave him an easy smile.

"I'm okay. Just give me a minute to breathe and I'll be good to go."

He seemed relieved at that. As he waited for her to loosen up, he set up the pages of _Secrets_. He plucked the first few chords, nodded to himself, then looked back to her. She nodded, he told her when to start, then started to play. Yugi thought she was ready, thought she had remembered how to just open up her mouth, loosen her tongue, breathe…

But the only thing that came was the memory of hiding in the dark, waiting for Mr. Keith to find her.

She hadn't done anything that day to find the wrestler boy. She hadn't done anything to stand up for herself.

And now that she thought about it, she had done nothing to stand up for anyone either. Not even her best friend when she was being insulted and torn at by the same man.

Mr. Atem stopped playing, but she hardly paid attention to it. Her eyes were burning, her fists were clenched, and somewhere inside her there was a brick cell she built around her. Why was she even here? Why was she even bothering to learn how to sing? It wasn't like singing was ever going to change who she was as a person, cowardly, pathetic, useless to everyone.

When the music started up again, she started to dread that he was still waiting for her to sing. But then the unexpected happened.

Mr. Atem started to sing the song himself. He had a tenor and style like his uncle, but sweeter and smoother with youth. She hadn't had the chance to just listen to him, unfiltered by a dozen voices around him, either from the music fair or the choir. Nor had she probably ever heard him sing quite like this, like he meant it, like he was trying to reach the words.

" _I need another story  
Something to get off my chest  
My life gets kinda boring  
Need something that I can confess."_

Was he…singing to her? A small part of her cringed at such a modern song (she had always been more fond of music at least ten years her senior), but sung by him, she could forget. She could just…

The lyrics went on. Once or twice he stumbled, but pressed on as though he hadn't. When he reached the chorus he hit the first high note perfectly, giving her chills, and melting down whatever brick walls she had inside her. It was as though a hot syrup was being poured into her body, strengthening her and spreading feeling back into places she hadn't realized had been numb. Singing, just for her…so intimate.

But that's how music was. Intimacy. A language of the spirit alone.

 _I love him_.

The thought startled her into a broken creak of song as her throat forcibly unstuck. But she picked up into the song, singing besides him, growing looser and looser by the minute. The warm ups were actually starting to kick in now.

" _So I'm gonna give all my secrets away_ ,"

Except this one. This older man with wild hair, sharp eyes, and a love for music. She could tell no one about this, and she wouldn't.

"Good!" Mr. Atem cried. "Almost to the end."

She finished the song feeling light headed, but unsure of the state of her heart. Euphoric? But, then, why did she still feel like crying her eyes out?

"I'm very pleased, it fits in perfectly with your voice. I think it will do just great."

"Great for what?" she asked.

"I'll let you know once I've gotten everything sorted out. Don't worry, it's nothing scary. I think you'll like it! Now, you good for one more go?"

"A-a-actually, I, um, think I need to head home early…if you don't mind. I-I have a huge project I sort of, uh, left to the side the other day." Half truth. It wasn't something she couldn't finish in the time she would have this evening.

But she couldn't stay here a second longer.

He gave her an odd, combing look that made the heat rise in her face and something akin to a shiver.

"Are you alright, Yugi?" He straightened and darkened. "That English teacher didn't try something else, did he?"

"No!" she said, a bit too quickly. She smiled. "No, he didn't do anything. Promise."

"Have you talked to anyone yet?"

"Was just going to do that. Talk to someone, that is. After lessons, uh, yeah."

He didn't look entirely convinced, but since he was fully aware of how little discomfort she could cope with, he sighed and tried not to look too disappointed as he gathered up the music sheets.

"Pity. I was hoping to hear you sing this song one more time. Do you need a ride home?"

Suddenly the idea of being in Mr. Atem's vanilla scented car sent thrills of horror through her. At the same time, her stomach jumped like a butterfly. She should say yes, then she could talk to him, be with him—

Was she stupid?

"Thank you, b-but I'll be alright."

"Oh, one last question. Would you be okay if I played that recording of your singing to some colleagues of mine?"

She was too distracted to really feel nervous about something so minor. "Sure."

He seemed quite pleased at this.

And though she had hoped she would happen to spot the wrestler boy with the pompadour on her way past the gym, he didn't step out, nor did she have the courage to step in and look for him.

Thus, she simply went home, wishing she could wash herself down the drain.

Because nothing good ever came out of falling in love with a teacher.


	11. To Love the Moon

**EVERYONE! MY BOOK HAS FINALLY HIT THE BOOKSTORES! You can get it on Amazon or order it from your local book store by looking up the title, "Out of Duat" or its ISBN number: 9781849148139.**

 **I'm working on getting info on when the ebook will be ready for it, but they so suck at communication. Either way, if you get a copy, shoot me a review or a PM so I can thank you and maybe send you a thank you card or, I dunno, worship you.**

 **Anyhoo, here's an early update to let you all know! I hope you get the chance to check out my first ancient Egypt fantasy novel-with a nice splash of romance 3**

Chapter 11

 _"Man was never meant_

 _to love the moon._

 _Too far he spent_

 _on building the tower_

 _which would take him_

 _up to heaven,_

 _always knowing_

 _there is no air in space,_

 _nor can any man_

 _build a tower_

 _so high._

 _Treacherous, such a beauty,_

 _glowing so far away,_

 _and yet I just want_

 _to reach."_

"Alright, now this guy is just getting depressing. When is he just going to up and confess to you?"

Joey had little patience with romance Thursday morning. She had texted Yugi late into the night. Though the only text she had written specifically about Seto had been to say "why would I give a damn what an abuser like him liking me? Like hell I'd ever date him, I'd just be asking for my Dad all over again", though her constant twittering about inane things when she usually wasn't much of a texter told Yugi otherwise.

Not to mention ever since that day, Seto Kaiba had been missing from school. Tea, the only connection the two of them had to the gossip ring of the school, had been all aflutter about the news of him being suspended for a week for socking a teacher in the face.

"Did he really do it for you, Joe? Did he?"

Joey just rolled her eyes to this and said, "who cares?"

Obviously every girl in the shameless, well-known Seto Kaiba fan club, who weren't looking too fondly at Joey. This amused the scruffy girl to no end, and on catching one of them peeking in her direction, she gave her the finger.

Yugi winced. "That's a little crude, don't you think?"

"It's hilarious," said Joey, smirking. "They're acting like some poorly written anime. I mean, seriously, who even starts up fan clubs for a guy? That's just weird."

Tea took personal offense to this. Little did Joey know that she had just secretly invited Yugi to the Yami Atem club the night before.

Frankly, Yugi was on Joey's side. Fan clubs for a guy just seemed a bit too weird. Not to mention counter-productive. What kind of guy wanted to say he got his girlfriend from a fan club? Wait, maybe they did…wait, weren't crushes suppose to be secret?

Oh, whatever.

The two of them didn't get back to the poem until Biology, which was right before lunch. While the middle-aged bespectled teacher went on about the difference between mitosis and meiosis, Joey pushed over a folded note.

 **Why do you think this guy's writ'n you poems?**

Yugi took a moment to chuckle over the fact Joey's writing mirrored her speech before answering.

 **I don't know. Maybe to try and wo me?**

Joey snorted as she scribbled out: **Must be ugly. Why else would he say he's out of your league?**

 **Isn't that what people normally think when they fall in love?**

 **Well, maybe it ain't league, maybe it's he's so howl at the moon fugly he knows he can never let you see his face.**

 **He writes so beautifully though. And looks aren't everything.**

 **I know. But it's kind of hard to kiss a hairlip or a zit.**

Yugi didn't know whether to slap Joey or laugh. And yet something else seemed to bother her about the poems. Having been captured by the words, she had read them over several times in privacy and couldn't help but feel that the writer knew her. And since Yugi was so terribly shy, the only people who had a chance to really get to know her were those who took the effort to talk to her, and of those she couldn't think of anyone particularly horrible to look at. She told Joey this and caught up on the notes they were missing while Joey replied. When the note slipped over, Yugi had to hide it beneath her book for a moment as she answered one of the teacher's questions. The moment she turned away, though, she slipped it out into her lap.

 **Then who do you want it to be? Out of who we know?**

Instantly, Mr. Atem flashed into her mind. She flushed and reflexively pushed the note back with a shrug to Joey. But Joey had a grin that made Yugi's stomach plummet. She knew that look.

Scribble. Then the note was back.

 **I saw that. Spill it. Who?**

Yugi pushed the note back. Joey stopped her. Yugi shook her head violently, catching the attention of the teacher.

"What's going on back there? I hope it's not more interesting than your grade."

"Nothing!" squeaked Yugi, and ducked her head back down to her notes. To her relief, Joey had the brains not to keep shoving the note at her.

That didn't save her for when the bell rang and they were off to lunch. The moment they were in the hall, Joey pounced with all the social grace of a potato and grabbed Yugi's head beneath her arm, as though the younger girl had turned into a football. The contents of Yugi's bookbag flopped to the ground and her scrunchy slipped all the way to the end of her hair. She let out a sharp mewl of dismay.

"Don't nuggie me! You promised!" Yugi squirmed, but Joey had a lot of power in her gangly arms.

"I ain't promised nut'n, you're going to tell me."

"Come on, Joey, we're in the middle of traffic!" Where was Joey's remorse?

"Then swear you'll tell me who."

"No!"

"The nuggie's come'n down—"

"Stop!"

"Gett'n closer—"

"Why do you want to know so bad?"

"So there is a guy?"

"No! Let me go!"

"You're a horrible liar. Here it comes. Three, two—"

"You're a horrible friend!"

"—one—" Yugi felt those sharp knuckles on her head. She knew Joey wouldn't hurt her. In fact, Joey's nuggies were quite tame and soft compared to the ones her older cousins would give her when she was younger. But even the lightest of fondling would send Yugi's thick, wiry hair into a wild mess that would take her at least twenty minutes next to a sink to fix.

Aaaand there went her scrunchy. People were staring now.

Yugi screwed up her face. "Alright! Fine! I like someone!"

"Who?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Not here, you dolt, in private. Swear it."

Her stomach did a twist. She hesitated too long—the knuckles started to twist.

"I swear!" Yugi yowled.

Like that, she was free. Yugi dropped down to start picking up the pens that had spilled from her bag, glaring daggers at Joey, who had not a drop of guilt on her face.

"Couldn't you just pressure me like a normal girl for once?" she grumbled. A few straggling passer byes were giggling at them.

"Dude, no normal girl would have been able to resist your puppy eyes when you asked them to leave it alone. That's why you need me."

Yugi snorted. "Why would I need—"

Someone else had knelt down on the other side of her. Out of her peripheral vision she had spotted a pair of leather boots.

"Need a hand?"

The heat of her blush went to the tips of her toes as she came face to face with Mr. Atem, who had a stack of papers and her textbooks already handed out to her. She mumbled a quiet thanks as she took them from him, careful to avoid meeting Joey's eyes.

"It's a good thing I've run into you. I found out that wrestler's name for you."

"O-oh?" Dang it, what kind of response was that?

"It's Tristan Taylor. Knowing his name should make it a little easier to approach him, don't you think?"

"Yeah." What was that smell? Was he wearing cologne? No, something simpler, like deodorant. Vanilla scented? "Thanks a lot. You didn't have to go through the trouble."

"It was nothing, I found it by accident. Well, see you in choir, Yugi." He paused just before turning. "Nice hair do, by the way. I don't think I've ever seen it out before."

And there was a reason for that. Mortified, Yugi threw her arms over her head, which earned her an amused grin from the teacher. With a wave, Mr. Atem walked off, hands in the pockets of his slacks and whistling a tune that sounded like one of Copland's movements.

Joey's hot breath was on her neck within seconds.

"Are you crazy? Him?"

This time Yugi really did slap her, though it didn't really mean much since Yugi never meant to hurt anyone and ended up just hitting Joey's bookbag. The glare she tried to shoot should've made up for that though.

"There's still people out here!"

And, for once, Joey got the gravity of the situation and stayed quiet. Yugi could feel her examining her and thinking hard as they made their way to the cafeteria.

Lucky for Yugi, those ahead and behind them kept Joey from pressing her more for information. Unlucky for Yugi, she had no sooner sent her eyes roaming over the cafeteria than she spotted the familiar brunette pompadour boy, standing by one of the tables with a general thug look on his face as he listened to the two or three other boys sitting there.

Yugi squatted down and dug a pen and paper from her bag.

"What are you doing?" Joey asked.

"Writing a letter. I'll explain later."

It was a trick doing it standing up and against the texture of the wall. Since Yugi could already feel her nerves riling up in her gut and threatening to scramble all coherent thought, she just quickly scribbled down whatever explanation came to mind and then forced herself not to read it as she folded it up.

Joey watched her go through this, concerned. "Are you alright? You look kind of peeky."

"I'm fine. Save my spot for me, will you?"

Several of the lunch line kids groaned in protest. But Yugi had to hurry before she started thinking about what she was about to do. Mr. Atem said it was all about choice. Yugi found, as she forced one step in front of the other, that it wasn't about choice at all, but the ability to move quickly enough as to not give your brain time to second guess itself.

Or, at least, try to move quickly enough.

 _He beat the snot out of you, and you're handing him a letter?_

It had to be done.

 _Does it? Why can't you just switch schools?_

Because then Mr. Keith will do this to someone else, and I can't let them go through this. Not even this Tristan Taylor.

 _What if he opens up the letter in front of all his friends? Reads it out then and there, in front of everyone?_

But Yugi already had a plan for that. She only hoped it would work.

Tristan Taylor either pretended to or really didn't notice her until she was standing right next to him. She couldn't help but notice that she only came to somewhere slightly below his shoulder.

"Uh, are you Tristan Taylor?"

Instantly the chatter at the table stopped. The pompadour boy's brown eyes zoned in on her and narrowed.

"Yeah. Who's asking?"

Yugi gulped. Move quick, don't think, "M-M-Mr. Keith gave me a note t-t-to pass on to you. He, uh, told me to t-tell you to read it in private?" She tried to make it sound like she didn't get this last part.

Tristan made sure to give her a leveled glare before swiping the note from her hand, as though maybe she would read it herself if she held onto it for too long. The other boys started hooting about him getting kicked off the team or weighing too much for the next match, but he ignored them.

Yugi took that chance to flee before he got any second thoughts—like giving her a right hook just for kicks.

Joey gave her plenty of funny looks. Once they got their food she insisted on eating outside on the front lawn in the semi-warm late fall air rather than at their usual table with Tea and strange mixture of her friends and Yugi and Joey's misfits. Even once they were away from everyone, Yugi insisted on eating first, drawing for any time she could get. There was a reason she hadn't told Joey yet. A very, very good reason.

So Joey decided to breach another subject.

"So, Mr. Atem,"

Yugi choked on a chicken nugget. Joey thumped her back hard.

"What about him?" she croaked.

"Just, uh…" Joey scratched the back of her head, looking a bit awkward herself. "Just how much are you serious about this guy? From a scale of Tea to Shakespeare?"

Yugi swallowed thickly. It wasn't like she hadn't been thinking about this herself. As she searched for the right words, she poked her Styrofoam tray with her spork.

"Joey," she hesitated. "I think what you should be asking is whether I am suicidal or not. It's not like liking him will end in anything happy. He's a teacher."

"My thoughts exactly. Even if there was a chance he'd give ya the time of day, anyone even gets a whiff you might have some'n going on and he'll lose his job, at least, and it ain't like schools are going to be jumping to hire a teacher who has 'falling in love with a student' on his resume."

"You think I don't know that?" Yugi dropped the spork and put a hand to her face. She still had yet to tuck her wild hair back into her scrunchy. "Joey, I've…I've never felt this way before—"

"Stop right there! The moment someone says those words, shit gets real. That, or some'n starts sing'n."

"What? Joey, I was going to ask you how to get rid of it."

"How should I know? I've never been in a relationship before."

Yugi groaned. "This isn't relationships. Come on, what about that time you liked that kid on the basketball team?"

Joey's face flamed. She leveled the end of her spork at Yugi in a deadly manner. "I thought we swore never to mention him again."

"But how did you get over him?"

"Simple. I tried focusing on something else until I could forget his scrawny little ass." Joey paused thoughtfully. "Wait…what if you tried focusing on that poem dude instead? Like, redirect the hormones or sumpthan."

Yugi chewed on a chicken nugget, watching a late monarch butterfly flutter just within site a few yards away. "I guess that could work…"

"Better than nothing," said Joey around her own nugget. "It's either that or start stocking up on ice cream. I mean, for all you know Mr. Atem's married."

Yugi nearly chocked again. Joey got up on one knee, just in case.

"Aw man...I hadn't even thought of that," said Yugi, then she stopped. "He told me he had a cat because he preferred them for, uh, sharking the house and something about living with people being tough. I don't think he's married."

"Yeah, I don't think Tea would get so excited over him if he was. I bet she knows."

"Joey, I'm suppose to be forgetting him, not figuring out his relationship status."

"Uh, right…sorry…knee-jerk reaction. Heh…" she swallowed her nugget, then gave Yugi a sympathetic look. "Just in case, though, I'll bring over some ice cream next time I'm over. Best keep the stock in your house than mine."

"Moose tracks," ordered Yugi gloomily. "Or cookies 'n cream."

"Already the plan."


	12. Stop

**Here's your weekly update! R &R. And if you get a mo, check out my debut Egyptian novel, "Out of Duat," on Amazon!**

Chapter 12

Friday's poem stayed tucked into her pocket until she could unfurl in her bedroom. For some reason, knowing the fact that the writer of the poem held her only hope for escape from her dead-end feelings for Mr. Atem, she felt she couldn't fully invest herself in the words with Joey hanging over her shoulder.

 _"Stop._

 _Red, blinding,_

 _thumping mad,_

 _but as soon as I turn away_

 _I find you,_

 _holding my heart to me_

 _still beating_

 _when I had expected it_

 _to stop._

 _It needs to stop._

 _Only end should come_

 _from your touch_

 _on such a flimsy organ._

 _Stop._

 _Order me to stop._

 _Tell me to go away._

 _And I'll pray_

 _that bloody thumping thing_

 _will listen."_

Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't this. Her own heart skipped a beat with the ache of reading the exact same need she had been feeling herself for Mr. Atem—that she wished it would stop, this little, stupid crush, or whatever it was. She couldn't just admire him from a distance like Tea. That was too pointless for one as sensitive and sentimental as herself.

Before she could get too deep into that thought, her phone went off to an unknown number. When the caller's rough, familiar voice introduced itself as Tristan Taylor, she nearly dropped it. It was happening, then. It was actually happening.

"You got some nerve, chick." He growled. "What if I'd let one of the dudes read it? You ever thought of that? Of what I might do to you?"

"But you wouldn't," Yugi said breathlessly, "because if it had been from Mr. Keith and he said not to read it, you already know what would be inside, wouldn't you?"

The empty silence on the other end told her enough.

When he next spoke it was in a shaking, breathless fervor, as though he had just finished running a mile and spoke through chattering teeth.

"Then he's done it to you too, hasn't he?"

Yugi blinked. "Done what?"

"Had sex with you."

Yugi dropped her phone. All of her went rigid and cold.

She couldn't tell him 'no.' It was a miracle he had actually taken her note seriously, and if Mr. Keith really had gone that far with him, then she couldn't let him go now. Forget beating her up, he'd hide, he'd run, and it would just happen again and she'd never be able to forgive herself.

Suddenly, what Mr. Keith did to her on a daily basis seemed laughable, meaningless even.

She flopped the phone to her face with numb hands. "Something like that," she said quickly.

Tristan let out a relieved, slightly manic sounding bark. "Then you did hear us when you walked by, didn't you? That's why you thought you could give me this letter, huh? Lying bitch."

"No! I really didn't hear anything, honest!"

"Right."

"No!" she clung to the phone, desperate to explain herself. "I just figured that most any guy must have a real reason to freak out on a-a-a girl like me just for w-walking by." Ugh, and here comes the stutter again. She tried to wet her mouth. "Look, we can't let him keep doing this."

"As your letter said, but what do you suggest? Have you even done this before? Do you have any idea what he's holding over my head?" Tristan snorted. "Besides that, it's not like it'll be nice and quiet who he stuck his dick into once he's fired. You up to living the rest of your life with 'Keith's School Bitch' hanging over your head?"

If it wasn't the bitterness in his voice that curdled her stomach, it was the words. She was shaking, shaking like the Chihuahua she was. And he had only touched her and threatened it. It had never hit home to her that he could, and would, actually do it. And if Tristan said had any truth to it, by allying herself to him and standing up, it wouldn't matter.

Instantly, it disgusted her to even think that. What was reputation to this?

Something hot rose up in her chest, something more powerful than her fear and the shaking. It brought tears to her eyes that didn't pour over the edge and made her clattering teeth go still.

"It would be worst to live the rest of my life knowing I'd just lain down and let him do that to others just because I was too afraid of just saying something."

Tristan paused for a moment. He sounded a bit amused and something else when he said, "I didn't expect that from the girly in pigtails licking a lollipop."

She winced. Oh yeah, she had had pigtails that day. Ugh, and if she didn't look young enough in front of Mr. Atem—wait, she wasn't suppose to care about that.

"So," he drawled. "That still brings me back to question one. What do you suggest we do? Cry to our mamas?"

Of course not. Even Yugi had to give her paranoid mind some credit when it was keeping her up late at night with scenarios.

"No. First, we'll need to write some letters about what happened. No fluff, no excuses, all completely butt naked about what happened. Then, before school starts, we'll go in and visit the principle."

"That's it?"

The new heat in her chest gave her the strength to be annoyed. "What, did you expect me pull down a stairway to heaven so we can take it up with God himself? If you're worried about the principle not paying attention to us, just shock him by saying something about rape or sex or—whatev."

"So we just shock him, tell him the gist, and hand him those letters?"

"Yep."

"And Keith?"

"Uh…"

"Nevermind, that's answer enough for me. I'll figure it out. It isn't like the creep can break into my house if he's being arrested." A pause. "Aw, shit."

"What?"

"My business. I told you he had something else hanging over my head, right?"

Yugi ducked her head down in concern, even though she knew he couldn't see. "Anything I can do?"

"No." He took a deep breath. "But you were right. In your letter. I was…always afraid they wouldn't take me seriously. I have a record, you know. Kid cried wolf and all that and Keith somehow made it look like I was just telling fibs." He took a deep breath. "But they can't ignore two people who don't even like or know each other. I mean, if worse comes to worse we can always have that choir teacher tell them how he pulled me off you. Third witness."

Yeah. But Yugi dearly hoped it didn't have to come to that. She had so little pride to hold before Mr. Atem as it was.

They set up a time to meet, wished each other well, and then hung up to get ready for a really, really long night of staring at the ceiling and wondering what the hell had gone wrong with the world while they weren't looking. Or, at least, Yugi would do that.


	13. You Do That

**I got "Out of Duat" on Kindle! Or ebook whatever. Check it out if you got a mo, you might like it. :)**

 **Other than that, enjoy your weekly update-and I'm sorry I made your tenders ache for Tristan. I kind of like the idea of taking what appears to be an a-hole enemy into someone you feel sorry for, because that's usually the case, in the end. Wickedness never was happiness.**

Chapter 13

She didn't really sleep. When she got up that morning, she stuffed a piece of toast down her reluctant throat to keep her grandpa off her back, who was already looking at her funny because she was heading to school early. He agreed to give her a ride, though, since the school bus wouldn't come that early.

Her and Tristan stepped onto the sidewalk at the same time. They gave each other grim, awkward glances before mutually deciding that their shoes were much more interesting. At least Tristan had the confidence of having his own stupid car, albeit an ugly white one from that era where every manufacturer thought their cars were going to be the next space ship in Star Trek.

The front hall of the school was, wonderfully, empty. They didn't say a word as they went into the front office, where the secretary looked up at them with a white mug that had a ceramic nose on it filled with coffee. She blinked at them. Then took another sip. When they asked to see the principle, that it was urgent, she took another sip, wordlessly checked his schedule, then sighed.

"If you make it quick you can squeeze in there before he starts his rounds greeting the students."

They didn't argue that but headed towards the open door she pointed to. Tristan seemed to know his way instinctively, while Yugi tried to remember the last time she had an excuse to go beyond the long front desk.

The principle, a balding man with a paunch who looked like he could've been the principle of every other high school, glanced up with a smile as they entered.

"What can I do for you kids?"

Yugi and Tristan exchanged glances. Tristan nodded and Yugi tentivly closed the door.

The principle's smile melted away and his eyebrows furrowed. "I'd appreciate it if you kept that door open, miss."

"And we'd really rather it not with what we're about to say," said Tristan, lifting his chin as though challenging the gang master himself and not some teacher gone to seed. "Mr. Keith's been molesting us. That's the soft version. Want details?"

The principle turned a funny shade of grade, like old Cream o' Wheat, then looked at Yugi, who was busy being blown away by how much her affection for Tristan was growing.

"You mean, this tiny girl too…?"

Yugi ducked her head. "N-n-not as f-far but, um, please just read this." She stuck out the envelope. "A-and p-p-please don't t-tell him."

"How can I press charges if I can't tell him?" The principle seemed to be taking this awfully coolly.

"Well…"

Tristan, either out of nerves or impatience, broke in, "Do you think he'd dare do what he did without having something to hang over our heads?"

The principle nodded, leaned forward, folded his fingers together, and examined the two of them. Yugi's knees were shaking, and she wondered if the reason Tristan kept his arms so tightly folded was to hide the fact that he was shaking too.

"That's a real hefty accusation you're pulling on one of our best remedial teachers. Mr. Keith has worked here for ten years. Why this now?"

"Look, just read the letters," said Tristan.

"A-a-and if you don't b-believe us, ask Mr. Atem."

The principle's eyebrows rose. "Oh yes. Mr. Atem. He came in earlier…well, if that's all, I'll take these letters and have the office call you if the police need some in person testimonies. Are you willing to testify to this?"

Yugi's head spun. Testify? Since when was law and court involved? When did it become so complicated to get a teacher to leave you alone and not rape you?

She heard herself mutter a yes next to Tristan, and then the next thing she knew she was stepping out into the oddly cooler air of the area in front of the long, long front desk. The secretary was still sipping her nosed mug of coffee as though nothing had happened. Through the glass windows into the front hall Yugi could already see the beginnings of the rush of students.

And then the glass door to the office creaked open.

And in stepped Mr. Keith.

Tristan's arms tensed tighter than ever in his jacket and Yugi started seeing dark splotches in her vision. Breathe. Breathe. When had she forgotten to breathe?

Mr. Keith's eyes landed on them and his jaw dropped. In that brief fraction of a second when their eyes met, Yugi knew, without a doubt, that he knew what they had been up to. Mr. Keith knew better than anyone how unlikely a pair the temperamental thug Tristan made with the anxious shrimp Yugi.

But he didn't snarl. It would have been better if he had.

He smiled.

"Taylor. Didn't think you knew this little lady. Just got here?"

Tristan nodded stiffly. "Yeah. Best I get going."

"You do that."

He stepped aside and opened the door. More black splotches were bleeding into Yugi's vision, but she took a deep breath through her nose and fought them back. Cold. Cold. Her legs felt so very, very far away, and the ground so close.

She went on autopilot after Tristan. As she passed Mr. Keith she caught a whiff of it, the old Pepsi and socks smell covered with a thick layer of Old Spice.

She followed Tristan because her brain had turned off. It wasn't till they had walked down the next hall and passed a trashcan in front of the bathrooms that the smell finally got to Yugi's head. She flung herself to the trash bin and upchucked the toast and then whatever bile would follow up.

Tristan made a noise of disgust. "Crud, they were right. You do scare easily, don't you?"

In answer she just retched. Her stomach muscles squeezed out more tears from her eyes than anything else, though.

When her stomach finally calmed, she slumped down the front of the trashbin, hugging her middle. Tristan's cautious hand on her back made her jump. He cursed lightly, but then started a slow, awkward circle. A few students walked by and whispered in wonder, but Tristan must have glared at them for they moved along.

"We better get going," he said, softer than he ever had before. "Better keep up the 'we're not buddies' appearance or they might think we planned this."

Her sweaty forehead squeaked against the plastic bin as she nodded.

"I'm…I'm sorry for being such a dick to you…I'll talk to you later."

And like that, he was gone.

She didn't know how long she slumped there, moving in and out of the haze, but it came to her like a punch to the face that Mr. Keith wasn't that far away. He had seen which hall they had gone down, could be coming right now—

But the buses would have already left school by now, and she couldn't walk home, she'd be too much in the open—

The bell rang.

Yugi leapt to her feet and started sprinting through the crowds, ignoring the way her book bag thwacked against her thigh. Students protested and cried out as she slipped by, nothing but a short, crazy haired blur as she raced to the only safe place she knew of.

Band students were just pulling out their instruments from their lockers when she slipped through the doors. A few gave her some weird looks, but she ducked down and did her best to look invisible as she slid past to the very back, where a narrow hallway connected this room to the choir room next door. The hallway wasn't even lit yet, and it echoed with the sound of students readying for their first class of the day on both sides. She wondered vaguely if Mr. Atem had arrived yet before grabbing the door to one of the small practice studios and slipping inside to the darkness.

Then she locked the door.

Her heart thudded loudly in the silence along with her own ragged breathing. Unable to hold still, she took one of the music stands and wedged it under the door so, if it was unlocked, the handle wouldn't be able to turn down all the way. She fortified it with the second music stand and then pressed herself as far as she would go into the corner on the floor. All of this she had done without being able to see her hand in front of her face.

Almost instantly her heart began to slow and her breathing eased. He couldn't find her here. No one could find her here. And after the principle read the letter, he would think she was home.

Why hadn't she thought of this? How could she not have thought of this? Had she really been so worried about her small part in presenting the letter to the principle that she hadn't thought of how she would get home? She had just figured she would walk home, but it hadn't occurred to her until she got there how far she would have to walk in the open next to the road where Mr. Keith could pull over and grab her.

She sucked in a breath of darkness. "Calm. Cool. Relax."

She'd be okay. She only had to wait here until she heard the bell rang. The soundproof walls were more to keep the sounds from inside from getting outside, she had found. She could hear the bell, surely.

Yeah. There was the late bell now. So she'd just have to count the bells and then get out fast when the last bell struck to the busses. He wouldn't get to her in a crowd of kids, would he? But he was a teacher, he could do anything.

In the quiet darkness, Yugi fell into a suspended sort of doze. The sleepless night caught up to her, and like a fox tucked away in the roots of a tree, momentarily safe from the reach of the hunting hound, she lightly slept. It wasn't comfortable. The floor was hard, and although small she did have the curves enough of a girl, which left her hip and spine feeling permanently kinked. The sound insulated walls weren't as soft as they appeared. The room also had no heating or cooling, leaving her chilled. But the anxiety, lack of sleep, and temporary safety pulled her under.

The jangling of the music stands woke her with a start.

Voices on the other side of the door made noises of bemusement.

"But I had it reserved for this hour. No one should be in there."

"Go get Mr. Higgens. He should have a key for it."

Yugi sat up and drew in her legs. Her sore stomach twisted, if possible, into a tighter knot.

A few minutes later, the other boy must have returned, for the same voice said, "He says he can't find his and to go ask Mr. Atem."

Now her heart really did jump. No. He couldn't see her like this, he just couldn't. On top of everything, seeing her pale, puffy eyed, and vomit breathed would just be too much. Anyone finding her like this was too much.

She crawled forward and sat on the ends of the music chairs, holding them in place. Sadly, she didn't know how much it would do. She was tiny. And how much more humiliating would it be when they finally broke in and saw her holing up in here like some mental child?

Then the last voice she wanted to hear finally came.

"I'm in the middle of class, what do you need?" Tense. Terse. The usual teaching mode of Mr. Atem.

"Someone's locked the door and we can't get it to move."

"Doesn't that mean someone's using it?"

"No one's been through here, and no one's on the sheet. I'm the first one."

There was a moment's pause. The second boy awkwardly added in, "we were told you had a key. Mr. Higgen's has lost his."

Mr. Atem snorted. "Third one this year. Sorry, boys. I already lent my key to him. Maybe you should tell him to stop losing things."

Relief nearly overwhelmed her. So she was safe. Really, really safe. When she tipped forward to return to her corner she let her arms buckle beneath her and curled up into a ball, right there in the middle of the carpet, not caring how much dirt from past shoes were getting on her face. She could sleep here, safe in her dark little box away from the world, and pretend none of it existed. That Mr. Keith didn't existed. That Tristan hadn't said the words 'had sex with you,' over the phone. That she hadn't thrown up that morning. That she hadn't seen that smile.


	14. For Being Pathetic

**Tomorrow I get to wake up early to go to a doctor I can't afford and try to explain how I love my life with all my heart, but am so afraid of a nameless doom crushing down on my head that I want to die anyways. I'm sure others have it worse. Heck, I KNOW they do. I'm not special in any way.**

 **So I'm updating early in hopes that, maybe, a chapter of a story will reach out like telepathy to some of you and I won't feel so alone in my head, or so stupid and ashamed for going to a doctor at all.**

Chapter 14

A crash woke her with a cry as music stands tumbled down on her.

"Yugi?"

She recoiled. Not now. Why couldn't everyone just leave her alone?

But the light was coming in now, and there in the doorway was the figure she couldn't mistake for anyone else. She couldn't make out Mr. Atem's face from the backlight, and didn't want to.

In a weak attempt to save her dignity, she struggled to get to her feet, but moved too fast and ended up stumbling to the wall to hold herself up from an overwhelming head rush.

Instantly, her teacher was over the tangle of music stands and had his arms around her, holding her up.

"What are you doing in here, Yugi?"

And all she could think to croak was, "You had a key?"

"'Course. Not like I'd tell Mr. Higgens-slippery-fingers I did. Only took me a week to find out he loses everything he borrows." He backed away once he was sure she wouldn't pass out. By now her eyes had adjusted to the light and she could see his handsome face twisted in such deep, sharp concern it made her feel naked, inappropriate, and more than aware that she shouldn't be so affected by him.

"How long have you been in here?"His hands still fluttered by her sides. The air in between them seemed to tingle.

"Since this morning."

"Did you—did Keith—"

"I stood up for myself," she whispered. "With—with Tristan. That's all."

His fluttering hands moved up as though to touch her face, then settled for her shoulders, then up as though they couldn't hold still.

The music stands kept the door open. She couldn't hear any sounds of class from outside. How long had she slept? Why did she still feel so tired and…thick?

"But why are you in here?" he asked.

"He…he saw me. He…knew, and I smelled—it made me throw up. And I was afraid to—to walk home in case…in case he saw…"

In a wave of humiliation she covered her face with her hands. Would she ever recover from this? From how pathetic she had become?

She really, really, REALLY, hated herself.

"But he didn't do anything to you?" The hands that had landed on her arms for a bit shook her lightly. His voice had risen in pitch, almost as though desperate. "He just saw you? He didn't do anything?"

She shook her head.

Mr. Atem let out a ragged breath.

"God…" his hands lifted. "What is it with you and giving me heart attacks?"

"I'm sorry," she said, and she was. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"For being so pathetic and making you feel like you have to save me. For being so scared. For clogging up the music studio when others need it."

He snorted. "Like they get anything done when they're in here anyways." He hesitated. "Yugi…Yugi, look at me. Please."

His fingers, while unyielding, were gentle as they coaxed her chin from her palms. She recoiled on meeting his eyes. She must look awful. But he didn't let her look away.

"Yugi," he said, so softly it made the hairs on every part of her body rise. "You do not make me feel like I have to save you, and you are not pathetic. Never pathetic. And I've told you more than once that we all have to deal with fear. I'm sure you have enough reason to be scared, and this is just your trial to overcome in life. We all have them."

He let her chin go, but she didn't continue to pull away. She had never been so close before, and for the first time she could see he wasn't lying about his eye color. There really weren't any contacts.

And she could smell him, that vanilla sweet musk. She took a deep breath of it, yearning for it to wash away the old pop and reek of Mr. Keith and the nausea it brought.

What would that smell taste like? The sweet vanilla something.

Mr. Atem moved to push the music stands out of the way with his foot.

"I'll take you home. It's my prep hour anyways, and I think a teacher should be there to explain the situation to your parents, as I doubt you've said anything to them."

She grimaced. "Am I really that unreliable?"

"Despite what my uncle thinks, I do remember what it's like to be a teenager." He turned to hold the door open for her and gave her a small smile. "When you're trying so hard to be the adult everyone expects you to be while living the life of a child, you take whatever independence you can get, even when you know you really shouldn't be doing it on your own."

The reminder that he really did just see her as a child made her inwardly wince. Unable to help herself, she said, "You make it sound like you're ancient. Just how old are you? Thirty million?"

"Twenty-five," he said lightly. "And, actually, I have to remind myself of that."

"Why? Do you feel old?"

"No. I feel too young." He waited for her to step over the music stands, then closed the door behind her. "Twenty-five is so very old. I need to remember that."

She frowned. Never would anyone say that twenty-five was old, but she couldn't think of what to say to that without getting too close to the area she really, really shouldn't go. The area that whispered of tastes and smells and the way her skin felt super heated where he had touched her.

Her feet felt unsure beneath her and her head still light, so when she tripped and dropped her bookbag like a complete dweeb she blamed it on that, and the fact she was exhausted and probably hungry, though her tight stomach didn't feel it. She stopped to check the hallways for Keith, but Mr. Atem just lightly put a hand on the small of her back and kept her moving.

"He can't do anything to you," he said.

She didn't know whether to believe that, but luckily they didn't meet a single other person all the way out to his car, where she plopped down on the seat gratefully. After sleeping on the cold floor, the worn foam car seat felt like heaven, not to mention the vanilla scent of Mr. Atem encompassed her like a warm blanket the moment the car door had closed. She snapped in her seat belt and leaned her head back.

Next thing she knew she was being nudged awake. She blinked blearily, momentarily confused as to why she was in this car and why they were in a drive through. Heat rushed up to her face when Mr. Atem chuckled.

"You really _were_ out."

"Sorry…" she muttered.

"No problem. I just wanted to know if you were hungry. This is also my lunch hour, technically, and I figured you haven't had anything to eat since this morning."

Yugi blinked, still somewhat asleep. Stupidly, she reached down for her bag to pull out her wallet, then remembered she didn't usually bring it to school. He seemed to know what she was thinking, though, for he added, "My treat. You've had a rotten day, you deserve it."

She smiled weakly at him. "I guess I could use something then." She didn't want to mention that the light headedness she had been feeling had crossed over into a ringing sort of headache.

It turns out he had taken them to a sort of smoothie joint which sold Greek food on the side. After clarifying that she had no food allergies and hated pineapple, he got her a small pita sandwich and, on his suggestion that banana and yogurt were easy on the stomach, a smoothie.

She didn't realize just how hungry and thirsty she was until she took the first sip, which she followed up on with a deep suck. The shaking in her knees and stomach calmed. He drove one handed with a lamb burrito in hand. She watched him eat out of the corner of her eye, strangely fascinated.

By the time they had finished their food, he had pulled up beside the little game shop where Yugi lived. This time, the little sign on the door said 'Open.'

"Guess it's time to get awkward, then," he said, brushing off his hands.

"You don't have to. I'm sure Grandpa would believe me."

He raised an eyebrow, one hand on the handle of his door. "And your mother wouldn't?"

Yugi gave a noncommittal shrug. Her mother was more of a ghost, nowadays. She saw her every now and then, where they greeted each other like distant relatives. It wasn't that her mother wouldn't believe her—though frankly Yugi didn't know. It was simply that Yugi hadn't even considered her being a part of the equation. She would be gone most of the time Yugi was home anyways, so she wouldn't notice her skipping out on school.

But that was a lot to explain to a teacher who didn't need to know the details. And it wasn't like it made life hard for Yugi or anything. She got along just fine.

He frowned nonetheless and muttered something short beneath his breath. But he got out of the car anyways.


	15. If Luck is with Us

**Sorry about that. I fixed it. I hate it when fanfic freaks out like that.**

Chapter 15

" _If luck is with us_

 _my love,_

 _you will never know of me. "_

Yugi frowned at the tiny poem that had been on top of the homework assignments Joey had brought over for her on Monday after she had had a blissfully peaceful three day weekend at home, free of Mr. Keith. Well, peaceful enough with the police coming over on Friday to question her thoroughly. That had been fun. Yeah.

"Found it sticking out of your locker," Joey said.

The short three lines frustrated Yugi. For the first time, she scowled at the cursive.

"If he didn't want me to know him, why did he bother writing me poems in the first place?" Yugi impatiently folded it back up and threw it into her nightstand drawer with the rest.

"I don't know."

The morose tone in Joey's voice instantly put Yugi on alert.

"What's wrong?"

Joey gave her a droll stare. "What do you think?"

Yugi winced. Oh. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner—"

"Were you going tell me at all?" Joey looked away. "Do you know what it felt like to hear from someone else that my best friend's been molested by a teacher? And she dealt with it with the help of some guy that'd beat her up?"

"Joey, I was afraid you'd try to attack Mr. Keith or something—"

Joey cut her off with a disgusted grunt. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Yugi blanched. The conversation was heading to the pits, and fast. "Joe—"

But Joey just cut her off again, this time with a hand. "Later. I don't want to hear. Obviously ten years aren't enough for you to trust someone."

And before Yugi could figure out what to say to that, Joey was already out her bedroom door and heading out through the shop. When the tinkle of the bell downstairs told her Joey had left the premises, Yugi slumped, that tiny three-lined poem still in her hand.

Because Joey was right. She should have trusted her friend more to be a support rather than assuming she'd be a hindrance. In trying to save her friend from worrying, had she just caused more damage?

And that ruined any chance she had of doing homework for the next few hours, forget having a good day. She took out her phone to send a text to Joey, but drew a blank as to what she could say. Sorry just didn't cut it, and what Joey needed most whenever she was upset was a bit of space before she could talk about it. But it wasn't like they had hit anything like this before. What if things were never the same? What if Joey didn't ever trust her again to tell her when she needed her? Or worse, what if Joey didn't trust Yugi to be there when Joey needed her?

Even with forgiveness, trust isn't something you can just decide to have. It has to be earned. And Yugi had hurt Joey bad by basically telling her with her actions that Joey couldn't be trusted when things got tough, and Joey had always worked so hard to be dependable. It was part of her basic code of honor…

Now Yugi hated herself for a whole new reason.

After eating lunch with her grandfather in the shop, she wandered outside after promising to be back by two, at the latest. She had avoided going outside since Friday in case Mr. Keith decided to be a freak and get his revenge on her over the weekend, but in the sort of mood she was in, she couldn't find enough energy to care if he did. She'd deserve it.

She came back to the world when she heard music. Without knowing it, she had unconsciously walked to where she had felt the happiest that week, which was the park Mr. Atem had taken her to for the little known musical get together. But there weren't any strings of old Christmas lights hanging from the trees, nor were there blankets topped with musicians everywhere. There were only some mothers and their children not yet old enough to be at school.

And sitting under the same tree, atop the same red plaid quilt, was Atem's Uncle Simeon, playing his fat guitar and singing songs to a small audience of children, who giggled now and then. A set of mothers sat nearby under the shade, though one looked to have had nodded off on her friend's shoulder.

Without giving a thought to it, Yugi made a beeline for the quilt beneath the tree. It wasn't till she got near enough to catch one of the mother's eyes that her old shyness came back like a punch. She slowed, then ducked to the side to make it look like she had been heading to a different tree. But even as she sat down in another's shade, she was close enough to hear the ending chord of the song and the delighted squeals of the kids.

Not soon after, however, the mother's gathered their children up to leave and Uncle Simeon was looking around his tree at her and gesturing at her to come over.

She had her eyes to her feet and her good old blush when she sat on the mussed quilt in front of him.

"Good to see you again! Yugi, right?"

She nodded. As always, she started to regret not staying on her own. What if she couldn't keep the conversation going? What if she said something stupid?

Luckily, Uncle Simeon didn't get the chance. "What brings you over here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

Yugi shrugged. "Something…s-sort of happened…at school."

He paused before asking, very seriously, "My stupid nephew didn't do something, did he?"

Yugi's head snapped up in alarm. "No! I-it had nothing to d-do with him! He even got me a smoothie afterwards a-a-and…" she flushed and looked back down at her feet. "No. It was someone else."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Then change of subject: what you been thinking about? Besides the subject we just banned." He strummed a chord, which hovered in the air, vibrating like lazy insect wings. "Or would you rather I blather on about something?"

This made Yugi smile in relief. "Please. Blather on."

He changed to another chord, low and sweet. "I've been thinking about how someone I love is bothering me insane like a cicada in the summer. Idiots playing a game he knows he shouldn't, but I guess that's how all stupid things happen." The chord moved up, just a bit. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah." Thought Yugi could only think of herself when she said that. She had been the idiot, not Joey.

"Now he wants my advice when I know damn well that all he wants to hear is me shoveling crap that will make him hope for the best, but you know what's the most annoying thing about it? I want to shovel the crap. I want to help him hope. It's not fun squishing someone's hope, especially someone you love." He lowered three notes, then went into another chord, which he dropped, frowning. "And I can't help but think…" he shook himself. "Nevermind. Guess I got to just let him learn the hard way. Nothing I can help him with."

"Um, if you don't mind," Yugi hesistated. "Who is this person?"

Uncle Simeon chuckled. "'Course, must be confusing the bejeebies out of you. It's my nephew, that teacher of yours. Like I'd bother with any of the drama my other nieces and nephews get into." A car door shut somewhere and Uncle Simeon looked up at something behind Yugi. His face cracked into a smile. "Speak of the devil."

Yugi looked over her shoulder and felt her insides flutter up to her throat. Pulling out a black instrument case from the back of a green Neon was her music teacher, Mr. Atem, who looked up and waved when he saw them. She quickly looked back, confused as to whether she should feel deliriously happy or start thinking up of an excuse to escape without looking like she was running away.

"Want to chill with us for a bit?" Uncle Simeon said with a wink. "I didn't really get to hear your voice beneath everyone else the other night. I heard you're quite good."

And sense he could have only heard that from one person, the fluttering of her innards only increased. Though she knew she should say no, though the excuse to go home was on the back of her tongue, her jaw remained glued shut.

It wasn't like she had anything else to do but mope in her house and try to do homework…

"Yugi! I didn't expect to see you here."

Oh Lord, did she actually think she was about to melt? This was getting ridiculous, she should leave.

But then Mr. Atem sat down on the blanket with them and she still had yet to make a move.

"What you guys been talking about?" he said lightly, setting the long, odd shaped case down beside him. "Something interesting, I presume."

"Very," said his uncle in the same tone. "Talking about you and your problem, actually."

Mr. Atem's reaction was instantaneous. He coughed, stared at both of them, and then spluttered as he tried to curse but couldn't pick out which one would insult his uncle the most while giving Yugi looks of utmost alarm. His ears had turned scarlet against the dark of his wild hair, and Yugi tried not to pay too much attention to how oddly adorable he looked in a casual T-shirt and cargo pants. She could almost pretend that he wasn't her teacher, and that was dangerous.

Uncle Simeon burst into loud, croaky guffaws. When her teacher saw her continuing to look confused and giving him shrugs in reply, he turned on his uncle with a growl.

"That wasn't funny."

"Ah, shush, it was hilarious," wheezed his uncle. "Besides it's either laugh or cry, right?"

"Just stop. Now."

"Fine, I will if you get your darling already. If you don't hurry I might not be able to hear your prize student here before we scare her away."

Yugi perked up and grimaced at the same time. "Darling?" Please don't tell her Uncle Simeon had called her that—oh please let him have—oh _shut up_.

But Mr. Atem just unlatched the case besides him and pulled out a beautiful, long necked, pine bellied banjo, which he presented to Yugi with a smile.

"Don't tell anyone in class," he said. "Would ruin my image."

"What image? Are you saying you wear all that leather in a high school?" The older man smacked a hand to his face. "Oh Lord, save their souls."

"They have a dress code, you know. And it's not like I wear that much leather…" Mr. Atem looked at the leather bracelets and his boots before giving Yugi that same smile, now a tone apologetic. "I hope my uncle didn't bother you too much."

"Not at all. He's quite sweet."

Simeon 'aww, thank you,' while Atem snorted. They had a little banter where her teacher accused his uncle of giving her false impressions and uncle denied it, all the while helping the other to tune his banjo. Afterwards they warmed up together with a few scales, which Yugi listened to with rapture, tickled pink by the round twang of Mr. Atem's banjo.

This stupid man was making it way to hard not to love him.

"Alright, what's first?"

Both men looked to her.

She wilted. "Can't I just listen?"

"Nope, Unkie's got to hear," said Simeon.

"And you ditched out on choir and lessons today," said her teacher. "Consider it make up."

Hot faced, sweaty palmed, she thought wildly for some sign that they'd let her go on this one, but with one last look at that beautiful pine banjo, she gave a dejected sigh. It wasn't like she hadn't sung with Mr. Atem around before, and what was one more person? Besides, if she'd bear with the uncomfortable anxiety and just sang, she'd get to hear more of the banjo…

"Alright. Do you got any, uh, songs from the seventies? I don't know, like…um…"

"Michael Murphy?" said Simeon.

She jumped. "You know him? I mean, his songs?"

"Course I do. How young do I look to you?" he turned to Yami, who was already picking out his fingering. "Still remember Carolina?"

"You only make me play it every freaking summer," he said.

"Alright then, I'll start us off. You jump in when you feel like it, Yugi, and we'll follow your lead."

Before she could express just how little she liked this idea, Simeon jumped into the intro. She clenched her hands hard together, trying to relax. At least she wasn't about to cry. She took a deep breath—

And smelled vanilla, twined with that smell of grass and clean air.

She glanced at Mr. Atem, who was bobbing his chin in beat. He happened to glance over at the same time and met her eye. Then he smiled—not his normal smile, but that tender thing that softened all the sharp angles of his face.

And she really did like this song…

She found her beat and let her breath slip out in sound.

" _She came to me, said she knew me_

 _Said she'd known me a long time_

 _And she spoke of being in love_

 _With every mountain she had climbed."_

As she started the next verse, Mr. Atem burst in with his banjo as well as his own voice, which, rather than drown hers out like she instinctively wanted it to, blended in with the harmony she remembered from the song and urged her soprano up.

" _And she talked of trails she'd walked up_

 _Far above the timberline_

 _From that night on I knew I'd write songs_

 _For Carolina in the pines."_

The banjo and guitar melded in for the brief intermission. Against the sounds of cars brushing past, the breeze against her cheeks, and the quiet applaud of the leaves, the magic of the music took over. As she sang into the rest of the song, accompanied by her teacher's gentle tenor and the thrum of guitar, something heated and euphoric settled into her gut. She could have flown. A part of her though she actually did, high high up into the sky, away and safe from whatever monsters she feared below.

And she could have never guessed just how _good_ Mr. Atem was at banjo. His fingers fluttered over the pegs and plucked the strings with precision that could have only come with years of practice.

Ruin his image. Right.

Finally, the lyrics part of the song ended, leaving the uncle and nephew to launch off into the few last measures of the song without Yugi's voice to follow. Both went crazing, egging each other on, making faces and contorting into poses with both guitar and banjo, strumming like mad until Yugi was on the ground practically screaming with laughter.

Like before, she had forgotten what it was she had been so afraid of. How strange to suddenly find singing easier than breathing.

She could have sung forever next to him, or at least lived a lifetime next to their strings.


	16. Creep

**Mmmm...chocolate. My hubby loves me. ^.^**

Chapter 16

That night, she figured Joey had had enough 'alone' time and called her up.

The conversation went like this:

"I'm sorry."

"Sure ya are."

"I've got chocolate."

"Hell, Yug, you trying to bribe me? I'm seriously hurt, you can't just fix this with chocolate!"

"I know what I did was wrong and selfish on a whole bunch of levels and I should have told you, and you're right, I shouldn't try to bribe you with chocolate, but it's the only way I can think to get you to come over right now."

"Come over? What, so your puppy eyes can manipulate me into not being pissed at you?"

"No! Because you're my best friend and I need you right now."

"Really? How come?"

"Because I saw Mr. Atem at the park…"

Joey snorted. "And?"

Yugi sucked in a shaky breath. "He was beautiful. He sang _Carolina in the Pines_ with me."

A horrified pause. "Aw fuck, not the _Pines_. You didn't tell him it was yer favorite, did ya? Please say he didn't just guess it."

"So can you help?"

"Yeah yeah, hold yer panties, I'll be there. You better not be lying about that chocolate."

Like it mattered, as Joey came over with a tub of Moose Tracks ice cream which successfully distracted them from the large candy bar Yugi had bought for Joey. The moment Yugi and Joey were up in her room, armed with spoons, Yugi burst into tears. Joey listened to it all, enduring even the blubber about the banjo, the grass, and only God knew what, as Yugi couldn't even keep track of what she was saying in her state.

Joey ended up staying over for the night. After eating dinner of spaghetti with Yugi's grandpa, who after receiving the answer that Yugi's eyes were puffy because of "non-Keith-related boy problems," gave Yugi a big hug and kiss and left her in the hands of her friend.

At one point, splayed out like starfish on Yugi's floor and staring at the ceiling, Joey said, "you know, if it weren't for the few freaks out there, I don't think this would even be a problem."

Yugi sniffed. "You think?"

"Yeah. I mean, you two are, what, five years apart?"

"Seven."

"…okay, a little more, but really, I've heard of folk marrying people ten years younger than them. It happens."

"But I'm a minor."

"By nine months. Once you're eighteen, no one can have a say of who you date and there's no cause for it to go on his resume."

"You're missing the big point here," Yugi flung an arm over her eyes. "There's no way he'll ever love me. It doesn't help how tiny I am. I bet even a normal high school boy would look like a pedophile standing next to me. And if he did notice me as more than a student, how do I know he's not being one of the freak creeps? I mean, I'm his student! High schooler! That's creepy!"

"Creepy." Joey agreed with a sagely nod. "Connotations are very real."

"I'm a creep! I'm in love with my teacher! I'm such a creep."

"No you aren't. Do I need to get more ice cream?"

"I'll puuuuuke," she sobbed, rolling onto her sides. "I'm such a creeeeeep, I like how he smeeellls."

"Yeah, that's a little weird."

"I suck."

"No you don't, you're fine. Come on, let's play sumpthan. You're not a creep."

"Yes I am." Yugi moved over to her little Playstation and TV in the corner of the room anyways.

At some point, Yugi excused herself to get a drink (must have cried herself into dehydration, she joked), and headed downstairs. In the kitchen she met her grandpa who was recording the days transactions. He handed Yugi a paper towel, which she used to blow her nose. He had her same strange purple eyes, which were framed by crow's feet. Though Yugi had died her hair crazy colors and grown it out, she could still see from his leathery face where she had gotten her hairline from as well.

"You're not a creep, Yugi." He said.

She choked mid nose-blow. "You-You heard?"

His face twitched as it did when he was trying very hard not to smile. "Kind of hard not to."

"Well, thanks for the thought, really, but…do you even know what we're talking about?" She realized a second later that what she had just said might come across as rude.

"Of course," her grandpa's smile finally broke through. "Your grandmother was a student of mine after all."

Yugi wilted, humiliation bubbling up like icky black tar. So he really HAD heard. "Yeah, your college student-"

"Who was fourteen years younger than me and fresh out of high school, mind you. If anyone's a creep, I was."

Yugi forgot about begging grandpa not to tell mom or, better yet, burying her alive in the backyard. Fourteen years? Hadn't mom said something about that a while back? About when he was an archeology professor?

Somehow, it didn't seem the same, but Yugi didn't say that as she filled up a glass of water. Her grandpa added a few numbers in his little black book as she drank. After a few seconds, in which she considered her distorted reflection in the water of her glass, she said, rather quietly, "You really don't think I'm a creep?"

"Nope."

"But what if I get myself in trouble with this?"

"Like how?" Her grandpa met her eye, and this time there was only kindness in his smile. "Going to kiss him in front of the whole school?"

Yugi's face flamed at the word 'kiss', which made her grandfather chuckle and shake his head.

"Sweetheart, if you get the chance to be with him, I don't think you have to worry too much about making a mistake with a friend like Joey around. As long as you are wise enough to listen to those who care about you and to not put the words of any guy you're not married to above us, I think you'll be okay. Trust me, if I got word you were with a creep, I'd care far more about your happiness than whether or not you liked me. Why do you think your mother and father had so little to do with me when you were little?"

Now Yugi was interested. "You mean…you knew dad would, you know…" Run away and cheat on mom with several women until she gave up on him and had to move back in with her dad to make ends meet. Then again, she ended up just getting swallowed up by her job so making ends meet wasn't so much the problem anymore.

"I didn't know, but I could sure smell it. Those types of fellows you can see from a mile away. And I'm sure Joey loves you too much to fear your displeasure should she sniff one of those as well."

Yugi swirled her water a bit. Her purple eyes started to look like an oblong Cyclops. "But what if…what if I'm too stupid to listen? I mean, it wasn't like mom was rebelling against you, and when people are in love, don't they sort of lose it? Deaf blind and stupid and all that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"What? Of course I trust you."

"Do you trust Joey?"

"Yes!" And she'd never forget that again. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because if you trust our judgment and our concern for you, then you'll listen. Simple as that." Her grandfather smiled. "Give yourself some credit, Yugi. You're a smart girl. You'll be fine. Besides, there's no point worrying about it till something happens. Mind you, if he does something unsavory, the law is going to be the least of his worries."

As he said this, Yugi had a brief flash of his face when Mr. Atem had told him about Mr. Keith last Friday. She had never seen such an ugly look on her sweet, game loving, Egyptologist grandpa. The police hadn't even been able to get close to Yugi for an interview until they had been taken aside by her grandfather and had a talking to. He had then insisted she stay home until the principle himself came to tell her Mr. Keith had been fired and thrown into jail. Even then he was considering homeschooling her, despite the demands of his shopwork.

A peculiar, wobbling warmth filled up her chest till she was sure she was about to cry. Putting aside her glass, she walked around the counter and threw her arms around her grandfather, who had and would always be there for her, even if her mother and father didn't.

"I love you," whispered Yugi.

His wide arms engulfed her in warmth, like a bear's. "I love you to the moon and back, and never forget that I believe in you. You're a good girl. Best one I've ever met."

And since Yugi was still learning how to believe in herself, this meant more to her than she could ever say.

"And I'm not a creep?"

A rumble of mirth through his chest. "You are not a creep."


	17. Unexpected Ally

Chapter 17

The principal came to pick Yugi up himself on Wednesday, having received confirmation that Mr. Keith was suspended from school until later hearing. A restraining order had been placed on him, though an order had also been given to Yugi and Tristan to never leave school grounds without the escort of a responsible adult.

Despite the principle's good intentions, after receiving the paperwork, it was Yugi's grandfather that took her to school. He had talked it over with Yugi and they decided that, since Yugi was already a senior, she could probably make it until graduation. Joey had also been a part of this decision, as she had sworn with many colorful words to do unquestionable things to any man who dared mess with her smaller friend.

Joey and Yugi got out of grandpa's car together as he stopped in front of the school. Instantly the students nearby zoomed in on Yugi, who hid behind Joey. So word had gotten around.

"Ignore them," said Joey. "Mindless drones, all of them. Oy! Don't ya have anything bett'r to do than stare!"

The group of girls in question eeped and hurried along. Joey grumbled unpleasantly.

"Again with the barking."

Both Yugi and Joey froze before the front doors as Seto Kaiba stepped around them and opened one for them. He had a dry, woke-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-bed smile that was more of a straight line than anything.

"Are you just going to stand there? I'm actually lowering myself to open the door, you could at least use it."

Joey snarled, hunching her shoulders up to her ears, and purposefully stalked off to another door. Blushing, Yugi hurried through the door he held.

"Thank you. Um, good to see you again."

He made a noncommittal grunt. "Heard about Keith. Good luck being gossip fodder for the cattle."

Yugi ducked her head even lower and hugged her book bag to her side. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Joey circling around from where she had come in further down but she waited some distance as Seto Kaiba didn't seem too inclined to move.

"Mind leaving us alone now, moneybags?"

"Why? Would you rather someone who is a little too curious?"

"What do you mean by that?"

But as Yugi looked up, she instantly knew what Kaiba meant. The front hall was full of students, all of them doing a poor job of trying to look inconspicuous as they caught peeks of her. The few she recognized from her classes hovered here and there, looking as though they wanted to talk to her, but held back by the formidable, arrogant aura of Seto Kaiba. He had just called them all 'cattle' after all, which, if you were a multi-millionaire genius who happened to have inherited his own powerful corporation, the everyday public high school student might seem just that.

As did the rest of the school, Yugi took a moment to wonder just why someone like him had chosen to come to this public school. If he was so smart, couldn't he have gotten his GED right now and moved on to college?

"Come on, puppy, you're going to want to come too. I'm not going to play babysitter all day."

When Joey opened her mouth to protest, Yugi strode forward and grabbed her sleeve.

"Just listen to him," she whispered.

"What? Since when are you on his side?"

"Since he's decided to actually be nice for once. If you don't get it, I'll explain later, just come on."

So they were escorted to their classes by the formidable Seto Kaiba, who luckily had his first class with Yugi, which happened to be Integrated Technologies. Not like Kaiba actually paid attention in class. He mostly sat in the corner and caught up on his real work or whatever it was Kaiba did as CEO and child prodigy. After proving to the teacher on the first day of school that he didn't actually need to take this class and was only doing it for credit, the teacher was more than happy to ignore him in his little corner.

For the first time, Yugi took the usually empty computer next to the corner where Kaiba usually holed up. The tall boy ignored her as though he hadn't just walked in with her. As with before, most of the students there were doing plenty of staring and whispering.

Yugi started up her computer. As it loaded (ugh, so slow, when was the school going to upgrade), she leaned over as though to get something out of her bag and muttered so only he could hear: "Thank you."

He grunted, sharp eyes furrowed over his sleek laptop.

"If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know."

When he didn't respond at all to this, she worried he hadn't heard her and turned to the front to hear what today's assignment would be. The minute the teacher set them loose with their books, a small note slid across her desk. Since the computers around her were empty (the power of the Seto force field), she made sure to tuck the note beneath the desk before unfolding it.

 **Can I hold you to your word?**

His handwriting reflected him precisely: straight, rigid, and perfectly legible. She grabbed a pen and scribbled a 'Yes' and tossed it back to him.

A new piece of paper came back, lined and larger from before. She hadn't even heard it being taken out of his bag.

 **Why does Joey hate men so much?**

Now there was a loaded question, and a somewhat guarded one. Biting her lip, she glanced over at Seto to see him unmoved from the position she had last seen him in. This sort of question went into the realm of strictly confidential. Yugi wasn't sure anyone else but her knew, being Joey's best friend. At the same time, he wouldn't ask unless he really cared, and after going out of his way to help them avoid uncomfortable question this morning, even if it was in his own rough, grouchy way…

Sending a mental apology to Joey, she put her pen back down and told the story of gangs, an abusive alcoholic father, and a basketball player who hadn't realized a girl stood in front of him.

She handed it back and went back to her assignment, heart anticipating his response. She made quick work of her assignment, which was a basic data entry and then a manipulation of said data.

Ten minutes to the end of class, another clean piece of paper with a question on the top was slipped onto her desk.

 **Would you be okay coming with her to test out a video game my company is developing? I would just make her uncomfortable and she wouldn't have fun, but with you she feels safe. I can compensate you for your time.**

Yugi snorted and scribbled a very snappy reply.

 **She's my best friend. You don't need to compensate me for being such.** She hesitated. Then, on a whim, she scribbled, **You like her, don't you?**

Five minutes to the bell, the note came back.

 **That is an understatement. But my time is running out, so I need your help. I swear I won't do anything to hurt her, and you have my word on that. And when I give my word, I mean it.**

Yugi was about to respond with an angry comment on all the times he picked a fight with her or made derogatory comments on meeting her, but then she reconsidered. Joey had never actually been hurt by those comments. Unlike with Mr. Keith, Seto had been very aware of where her line was and never went there. And now that Yugi was thinking about it, if Seto had been kind and sweet to Joey, she would have avoided him, distrusted him, even shunned him on suspicion that he was trying to use her.

Wait…did Joey interact with any other guy on the same level as Seto? Though she hated his guts because he annoyed her, it was a relationship, albeit a strange one.

He really did have a trick figuring out how to interact with the extremely man-hater Joey.

This was all starting to feel a lot bigger than Yugi had originally thought.

Carefully, she scribbled her response.

 **You don't have any room to make a mistake. If she's betrayed by a guy one more time, that's it.**

The bell went off. Yugi saved and sent in her assignment and picked up her book bag. Kaiba was standing ready at her desk to keep the few stragglers at bay with the force of his glare.

"You think I don't know that?" he muttered.

On a whim, probably brought on by the sudden openness from a usually taciturn person, she asked, "Why did you come to this school?"

Seto met her eye. The straight smile reappeared on his face.

"Now, isn't that the question? I'll go with you to your next class. I'm sure the mutt wouldn't appreciate you being a sobbing mess when you walk into Biology. And I'll need your number to text you details about the gig."

Yugi could have laughed. Who knew Seto Kaiba had a knack for making a date sound like an espionage?

 **Hey ya'll, if you are one of those who have bought my book, "Out of Duat," could you leave a review? There needs to be at least 20 for it to do well (or so I'm told). If you haven't, you can get an electronic version on Amazon for $3. ^.^ Spread the gospel of more fantasy stories in ancient Egypt.**

 **Other than that, R &R**


	18. Rumor of Friends

**I have a Christmas present for all my wonderful readers! From today until the 20th, "Out of Duat" is FREE! So drop by Amazon and pick up your free copy, and thanks for reading!**

Chapter 18

Mr. Atem borrowed her from her next class (pre-calculus), looking as though Christmas had come early. Yugi was still getting over the odd looks some of her classmates had been giving her.

"I promise, this will only take ten minutes, at most," he said while skipping ahead of her.

She giggled at the sight. "I thought you wanted to appear older."

"Pah," but he stopped skipping and pivoted to the band room doors. "Alright, close your eyes and no peeking. It will ruin the effect."

"What effect?"

He just smiled at her, waiting. She sighed and closed her eyes, stomach prickling as his smell became all the more apparent with her loss of sight.

The door clicked open and his warm hand took hers by her wrist, which felt so small in his. She heard a hush of whispers on the other side along with a few clicks of wood. Could it be some weird surprise party? Oh no, don't tell her he was going to make her sing in front of a crowd without telling her.

But then he led her to a chair and sat her down.

"Keeping your eyes closed?"

"Yes," she said, aiming for impatience but just coming across as her usual nervous squeak.

Quiet. She could still catch that vanilla musk, so he had to be nearby.

Then a hum of movement—of many somethings moving through the air.

A voice. No, strings, humming out the first note of a song, then the next, a chord, the ground trembling boom of bass strings, a trill of higher strings—

An orchestra. All around her, to her left, behind right—Yugi soon became awash in vibrating, thrumming, living music. Her own vocal chords hummed in response. She gasped.

And then she caught on to a set of notes she knew. Then another.

 _Secrets_. It was the accompaniment to _Secrets_ that she had only ever heard on the piano, now brought to life by the full orchestra of her high school. Even as she listened she could catch flaws, hear a few squeaks, maybe an odd note here or there, but the fact that it was her song, the song he picked just for her, and that she could almost feel each sections parts lifting her up in the dark brought tears to her eyes nonetheless.

They didn't play the full song. They played the first verse and the chorus, then cluttered to a halt, by which Yugi had already opened her eyes. She saw a few members of her choir holding violins and a cello, catching her eye and smiling. The rest of the faces she had recognized around school but never talked to or given thought to, being her usual shy, frightened self. Now almost all of them were looking at her, waiting for her response, expressions fraught with the same excited expectation as Mr. Atem.

Mr. Higgen's stepped down from besides her, grayed, more than a little overweight, but kind faced.

"What do you think? Would you like to sing with us?"

Yugi, who had been hurriedly wiping off her face, blanched.

"S-s-sing?" In front of the orchestra? No, they'd want to perform, so in front of—

"It wouldn't be that different from singing in the choir," said Mr. Atem, bowing down from her other side. "Just different kinds of voices. Instead of vocal chords, there are strings, and many of these students have had to deal with the same kind of self-consciousness you seek to overcome."

A girl in the first stand of the second violin section nodded eagerly. "I was homeschooled, so I couldn't play for anyone until last year."

"I still hate playing in front of people," said another second violinist.

"I puke before every performance!" called a voice somewhere in the back.

A collection of laughter rose at this, along with a few cries of 'tmi.' Yugi, however, could feel her bottom lip trembling as she did everything in her power not to clam up, pass out, or tremble.

Mr. Higgens put a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to. But we've heard your voice, and we all want to help you have confidence. You have so much talent."

Many members of the orchestra nodded their heads in agreement. As Yugi exchanged a look with her choir teacher, a guy holding a cello leaned around the player in front of him and asked, sheepishly, "Are you single?"

Another collective laugh as Yugi blushed furiously. She opened her mouth, started a sentence several times only to give up and put her hands to her face with a, "oh my," which brought another chuckle.

As Mr. Higgens pulled away from her, she heard Mr. Atem speak. "It's okay if you don't feel ready. I never want to push you into anything you don't want."

She waited for the 'but' and it never came. Perhaps he knew if he had said 'but' she would have backed off. Or, perhaps, he really had meant it.

But as she sat there, still full to the brim of what it had been like to have been wrapped in the quilt of their instruments, she remembered Christmas lights lazily hung from low tree branches, an old man with a fat guitar, and Mr. Atem's bright eyes as he said, "Now, wouldn't that be great if you could make everyone feel like that?"

And then she thought of Tristan Taylor. There could be more like him.

She straightened, or tried to. When her voice wouldn't work right, she nodded and gave a watery smile.

After that, Mr. Atem and Mr. Higgens worked with her and the orchestra as to when they would be ready to practice together as well as made plans to perform at the school's Christmas assembly before the school was excused for winter break. This gave Yugi two months to get use to the fact that she'd be singing in front of the whole school, when only a few weeks ago she hadn't even been able to sing in front of one person, let alone talk.

Thus she had just a bit of wobble to her step as Mr. Atem escorted her back to her math class.

"You really have nothing to worry about, Yugi."

"I'll puke." In front of the whole school.

"No, you won't."

She gave him a light-headed, raised eyebrow stare. "How do you know that?"

"Because I'll help you. I'll do anything to do what you intend to do." A strange look came into his eye as he met hers. "You're doing this for a reason, not just to do some silly showing off or to make me happy."

She turned her gaze down to her walking feet. "Maybe you have too much faith in me."

"No. It's just common sense that you'd need a big reason to do something that terrifying. And I believe in you."

He left her at her classroom door with plans to see her at voice lessons after school.

Yugi met up with Joey after Biology, trailed by Seto Kaiba who Yugi expected to be irate, but appeared to be in an excellent mood. Well, as excellent a mood as one could expect of him.

Unfortunately, Joey's was not. Her hair had the familiar mussed up look of having been tugged at one too many times.

"You'd think," she said through gritted teeth, "that after sixteen years of being alive, at least, people would learn some freaking manners."

"Nice hair," said Seto.

"Shut it!"

"What's wrong?" Yugi moved to clear the last of the space between them—

Too late, as Tea slid between them. Apparently she was immune to the Kaiba force field of grouchiness.

"A word," she said, latching onto Yugi's arm and pulling her away. Joey gave a shout and moved to stop her, but Tea paid her no heed, her blue eyes practically sparkling alive with excitement.

She only made a show of blocking Kaiba out as she cornered Yugi against a wall.

"Did you really have sex with Mr. Keith?"

Yugi never wanted to be struck down where she stood more than then.

"God, didn't I already told you he didn't?" seethed an irate Joey, who reached through to yank the tinier Yugi from her grip. "Go find someone else's privacy to violate, won't you?"

She pouted. "I wanted to hear it from Yugi herself. I thought we were friends."

Joey opened her mouth to retort something back, probably nasty based by the look on her face, but Yugi took a step forward, knees shaking. She had just noticed the eyes from the cafeteria tables that had been directed her way.

"No."

"No? We're not friends?" Tea put a finger to her lips, as though ready to be hurt.

"I-I-I didn't," Yugi gulped. Come on, she was a senior in high school, it should be so hard to say one stupid single word. "I didn't have sex with Mr. Keith."

If Tea was disappointed, she didn't show it. Faster than a switch of the light, she changed rails. "Then what about Tristan? He was the other witness, wasn't he? I heard someone even saw him in the wrestling room once, letting him go at it like—"

Yugi slapped her hands over her ears. "Stop! I don't know any of this!"

"Yugi? Come on, take off your hands, I just want to know—"

"It's none of your business!"

"I know it's not, I'm just clearing up the rumors before they get worse."

Joey made an ugly low growl. "That's it, priss miss, enough with the excuses. Back off or I'm tearing off those monkey rings off your lobes."

Tea put a hand to her large hoop earrings, scandalized. "You are such a bitch, Joey!"

"At least she isn't one who likes to stick her nose in other people's feces."

Seto Kaiba wasn't one to be ignored, force field or no. Tea faltered under the much taller boy's formidable glare. Then, with a pout and flushed cheeks, she stalked off, magnetizing a few friends to trail off after her.

Kaiba snorted. "Real great at picking your friends, shrimp."

Yugi just lowered her hands and took a steadying breath. "I…I think I've lost my appetite for today."

"Vending food?" suggested Joey, taking out her rather thin, worn duct tape wallet and shaking it.

"No, I'll…I'll be fine. Why don't you figure out food with Kaiba? He's really not that bad of a guy."

"Not that bad of a…" she gaped at Yugi, momentarily speechless.

"I know a few good places," said Kaiba, picking up at once. "I'll drive."

Joey glanced at him and looked back to Yugi, just to take a double take back at him. The wrinkles her frown produced were impressive.

"Alright, who brainwashed you while you were away from school? 'Cause I know you'd want nothing from me."

Kaiba raised a smooth, dark eyebrow. "You assumed that rather quickly."

But Joey wouldn't take it and took a step as though thinking about hiding behind Yugi, which would have been a funny trick if at all possible. "Yug, you really should eat something. I know how you get with low-blood sugar and all."

"I'm fine, really. Go with Kaiba. It's the least you can do for how he got suspended for you."

"He didn't get—I didn't make him punch that teach!"

But Yugi was stepping away, making more excuses about finishing some 'math' homework (playing on Joey's phobia of math), leaving her best friend looking flustered as a smirking Seto Kaiba somehow eased her out of the cafeteria doors.

 **Be sure to pick up your free copy of "Out of Duat" by T.S. Lowe on Amazon! My Christmas present to you. Merry Christmas!**


	19. Secret Cure

**REMINDER! This is the last day you can get my Christmas present! "Out of Duat" by T.S. Lowe for FREE on Amazon!**

 **And here's another chapter as well-to help sweeten the reminder. Thank you for all your support!**

Chapter 19

With Mr. Keith gone, the Senior English class was given a substitute, which turned out to be a fifty million year old woman who had retired from teaching, but hadn't forgotten how to keep teenagers in line from a thirty years in the field. It didn't matter that you could barely see her face through the folds of wrinkles, all it took was a look and the class goons were sent coiling back into their seats. The first time she did this, Yugi couldn't help but think of Mr. Atem and his own fearsome glare.

Despite having only a day to review what they had learned and prepare, she gave a well-organized, brilliantly delivered lesson. Yugi's like for the woman skyrocketed the moment she realized who she was, and instead of demanding that she answer a question or read some of her writing, she asked kindly if Yugi felt up to it today and took a wordless shake of the head as answer enough.

Even with a good mood, however, Yugi had to drag herself into the choir room after school, her stomach aching and feeling light headed for food. Why'd she have to be such a pansy when it came to food? Ugh.

Mr. Atem laughed when she dropped her head onto the shiny top of the baby grand. "Rough day?"

"No, actually." And she sounded surprised herself. "People left me well enough alone and our new English teacher's a blast. I was just stupid and skipped lunch."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Tea sort of…brought up the whole thing and said everyone thought that I…" Yugi started feeling nauseous again just thinking about it, which didn't help her already calorie deprived brain.

"Sort of a gossip, is she?"

"I guess so. Joey says so, at least."

"Hmm, Joey. You mean Josephine, right? Tall, scraggly, always getting into fights with Seto?"

"That's her. She's been my best friend since I was ten."

Mr. Atem nodded. When Yugi didn't lift her head from the piano, he asked, "That hungry?"

"I don't do well skipping meals." She mumbled into the blacktop. "Something to do with blood pressure or something. I'm such an idiot…"

"In that case, wait here a mo."

She straightened to refuse, embarrassed at the thought that Mr. Atem thought she might be begging for food, but ended up moving too quickly and had to spare her breath to get through the dizziness that followed. By the time it left, she had a headache, and no desire to refuse the seram wrapped sandwich that had suddenly appeared in front of her in Mr. Atem's hand.

"I keep a stock in my fridge," he said. "Eating sometimes helps with the migraines."

She thanked him and took the sandwich gratefully. So, he kept these along with the ibuprofen and the ice packs. "You get migraines that often?"

"I'm sort of sensitive," he said, looking sheepish. "Earwise, that is. I thought you would have known that by now having been in my classes."

"I always thought you were…" she stopped with a blush and tried to focus on unwrapping the sandwich to cover up the awkward pause.

"Thought I was just a grouch?" He smiled at her coy little nod. "Well, I can't deny that. But off key notes being blared for too long at me give me the worst headaches, so yeah, I'm a grouch."

"Why'd you become a music teacher then?" She took her first bite of the sandwich and nearly melted. It was just a simple ham, cheese, mayo, and alfalfa sprout sandwich, but hunger was the best seasoning.

He took a few moments to respond, in which Yugi scarffed down more bites of the sandwich. "I got more if you're still hungry after that one."

"I don't want to eat up your supplies."

"I can always make more. Besides, singing on an empty stomach isn't good for the voice."

She was too happy to finally have food to deny that. He scooted down the bench to give her a seat and she took it, feeling more than hyper aware of just how little distance was between their arms and did everything she could to not accidentally bump him while eating.

Mr. Atem pulled up the music sheets for Secrets and started to arrange them on the piano's stand. As he did so, he answered her question, if a bit haltingly. "I've been asking that myself while I've been here. I always thought being a music teacher would be the most rewarding career I could think of, and the best for raising a family. My uncle has a friend who went pro—became a celebrity of sorts, you could say, and just the world he lives in…I don't think I'd want to put children through that. I wanted something quiet, humble, something like those nights my Uncle Simeon would visit and play his guitar at the kitchen table. And then I got here and the migraines started."

Yugi swallowed her last bit of the sandwich and, as she licked mayo off her fingers, asked, "Didn't you know that would happen? Not all music students are good."

"Well, I expected it and thus came prepared," he gestured to the sandwich wrapper. "But I figured…I don't know, I was stupid. Would you like another sandwich?"

"Sure, but why do you think you were stupid?"

He hesitated, and the momentary uncertainty she saw on his face gave her the urge to throw her arms around his neck and hug him tight. He really did make it way to easy for her.

"I…I guess I thought I'd actually be doing teaching, not teenage ADD crowd control. My own high school music teachers made it look so easy." He blew out a puff of air that made his bangs flutter up and leaned his elbows on the music stand. "Add in my headaches and you just get a grumpy, impatient teacher dragging along a bunch of kids who don't really care through a song."

"They care," said Yugi.

"I know some do, but I'm just being moody. I better go get that sandwich."

Yugi watched him go, wishing she knew what to say, but also figuring that it was something he just had to get over—like the new job blues or something. When he came back with her sandwich, she unwrapped and munched it happily as he practiced some particularly difficult parts in the piano accompaniment and made notes on the last line to keep an eye on b flat.

"You're so talented," she mused, blushing hard when she realized she had said it out loud.

But he didn't think much of it. Just said thank you and led her through warm ups once she had finished. They went through some scales, pushed through lip trills, and then moved into some flexibility practices.

"Your stiffness is your weakness," he told her. "We need to work on it. Stand up by the piano over there and put your shoulders back. You've been doing your breath exercises like I taught you, right?"

"Yes sir." She said, taking her place in front of the piano. "Grandpa thought I was mighty weird for putting his encyclopedia set on my chest."

He looked pleased, and moved back to the keys. He had just pressed down the first notes when he paused, glancing back at her.

"What?" she asked.

"I was just thinking…" he hesitated again. He seemed to be doing that a lot more lately. But he straightened his shoulders and faced her, as though making up his mind about something. "Thank you, Yugi."

"For what?"

"For letting me teach you. I can't express how…how much it's helped me. To be able to feel useful. And you really do have a very good voice, very in tune. Want to know a secret? You can't tell anyone."

The butterflies started up under her diaphragm, fighting to get to her collarbone. "Of course. My lips are sealed."

He leaned in close, confidentially, even though they were the only ones in the choir room and both the doors to the hallway were closed.

"Your singing cures my migraines."

"Really?"

"Yep. For sure, every time. Almost wish we had practice every day after school so your voice can wipe it all away. Start me out clean."

Just as her eyes trailed up to notice how awfully pink his ears had turned against his dark hair, he pulled back and pounded out a key.

"Enough chit chat!" He said imperiously. "Flexing flexing, with arpeggios on three."

They finished warm ups, worked through _Secrets_ , and then Mr. Atem offered to drive her home (which he offered to do if he had errands to run in her direction). She helped out her grandpa around the shop, tried not to get completely hot faced and failed when he asked her about her crush, and then enjoyed a rare dinner with her mother home, who didn't allow a space for either of them in her stories about so and so at work and the annoying new guy.

Then Yugi went to her room, did her homework, and called Joey to talk about her lunch date with Seto—or tried to, as Joey seemed too flustered to even make sense of what had happened, even though all that had was awkward silence and two burritos.

Yugi then put on PJs and slipped into bed.

There she dreamed of a humble, well kept little home, where ruby-eyed children with wild hair played on a clean floor and Yami Atem strummed the strings of his pine-wood banjo. She could hear him singing softly, almost under his breath.

 _"From that night on I knew I'd write songs_

 _For Carolina in the pines."_

She wept for the beauty of it on waking. What a beautiful dream. What a beautiful dream for a man to have. If only she could have it too.


	20. How?

**I'm so excited to get in touch with you guys again! Why does it feel so long? Anyways, if you've managed to read my book, "Out of Duat" please pretty pretty please leave a review so I can hear what you thought. ^.^ Also it will help other people to find it as well.**

 **But that's not why I'm excited. 3 You're going to love the next chapter. Mr. Atem in his Halloween best...muwahahahahaaa, how will you guys ever convince me to release it earlier? Can you really wait a whole week?**

 **Love,**

 **your author**

Chapter 20

 _"How?_

 _Dear love, how can I leave_

 _once I've seen it?_

 _Seen the dream_

 _which makes me weep_

 _for want,_

 _and seen you at the steps?_

 _You'll burn me,_

 _I'll shatter you,_

 _but, oh God, I saw!_

 _and cannot unsee it._

 _I'm sorry_

 _if you find these notes_

 _unwanted._

 _But I'm ensnared._

 _What can I do?"_

Yugi blinked blearily at the poem which she, in part, hadn't been expecting. The last poem had been a week ago and had sounded so final. By the tone of this one, the writer had thought it to be the last as well. She reread it and couldn't help but think of the dream she herself had had not too many nights ago, with the little house and Mr. Atem playing his banjo while his children sat at his feet. It literally stole her breath whenever she remembered it, and even as she did then she had to lean against her locker to catch it back.

It surprised her how powerful her desire for it was.

"You okay, Yug?"

She straightened quickly to show Joey the new poem, which she read somberly.

"Okay, yeah, this guy needs to come out. Like, bad." She handed the note back for Yugi to stuff into her book bag.

"Agreed," said Yugi. "And not just for him. It's getting bad with you-know-who too."

"Why? Did he sing the _Pines_ again?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean yes and no?"

Yugi hesitated. She meant to tell Joey about it—she was her best friend and comrade in all this, after all. But it only then occurred to her that the moment she started, she'd just burst into tears.

"Suffice it to say I'm falling deeper, and it's going to hurt bad when I hit the bottom."

"Dramatic." But Joey didn't laugh. If anything, she looked just as morose as Yugi did that morning.

Yugi frowned. "What's up with you?"

"I don't even know," said Joey, screwing up her face. "Aw man. Yugi, that stupid moneybags is screwing with me."

Yugi pulled back from her locker and closed it, intrigued. "What happened?"

For one of the few times in their seven years of knowing each other, Joey blushed, and having not had as much practice as Yugi did, she ended up looking like she was trying to push something very unpleasant out the wrong end of her body.

Yugi burst with laughter, and Joey darkened.

"What you laugh'n at? I'm try'n to confide in you, jerk!"

"I-I'm sorry, Joe, it's just," Yugi broke off into peels of mirth. She couldn't say it. But what if Joey had pulled that face in front of the proud Seto Kaiba? Oh no, she couldn't think about it.

She ended up having to plug her nose in order to stop the giggling, and by then the bell had already rung for first period.

"I'll tell you later, if you have yourself under control by then," said Joey, scowling and still red as she marched flat-footed down the hall. Yugi just smiled and loved her best friend more than ever. Count on Joey to lift up her spirits every time. She could only pray she could find the happiness she deserved.

With that thought she sat down in her new usual place by Seto Kaiba in Integrated Technologies.

"Should I be worried about what you did last night?" said Yugi.

Seto Kaiba grunted, not looking up from his laptop, which is what he usually did. Yugi frowned, suddenly not feeling none-too kind.

"If you did anything to hurt Joey—"

"I haven't."

Yugi quailed at the sharp tone. Okay, so Kaiba usually seemed to be in a grouchy mood, but even today said something about that. Yugi fidgeted in her chair and decided she wasn't brave enough to try and broach the subject with him. She'd just have to wait for Joey's explanation.

Half way through class, right as a typing test ended, a note was slipped onto her desk.

 **The game date is canceled.**

Yugi frowned. But it was just two days away. What could have happened?

When she sent it back with a question mark, she got nothing in return. Kaiba left without her at the end of class, shoulders back and long coat fluttering behind him. Yugi wasn't too worried about being left without his grouchy force field, as she had discovered, not too soon after talking to Tea, that the rumors themselves were enough for people to keep their distance. She tried not to think about it. It wasn't like much had changed. Having always been shy, she hadn't had too many friends anyways. But still, the idea that they kept their distance now not just because she was shy, but because they thought she had been raped, maybe not even raped but had willingly given in to a teacher that everyone knew…

In Biology, Joey passed her a note with almost illegible writing.

 **He came over to my house. Acted all surprised when he saw my old man swinging beer around. Tried to get me to come live with him.**

Yugi stared at the note. She didn't move for a whole five minutes.

So much for Seto Kaiba being subtle.

 **Maybe he's just worried about you. I've tried to get you to live with me multiple times, so I'm not surprised.**

Joey's handwriting got more aggravated, to which Yugi had take extra time just to decipher.

 **Why aren't you asking how he even knew where I lived? The creep came to MY HOUSE without invitation! He didn't call or nothing, just appeared on my front porch and started spouting crap about how he couldn't leave me living in a place like that and to come stay with him—he even said something about getting me my own apartment like I'm his little mistress bitch or something** …some words Yugi couldn't make out no matter how hard she tried. Something about throwing his money around and being and arrogant ass.

Yugi didn't know what to say. In a way, she was disappointed. Seto Kaiba had seemed to get Joey better than any guy had before, and the fact that he crossed such a straight, obvious line of Joey's spelt doom for any future relationship. If there was anything Joey was the most ashamed about, the most protective of, it was how she lived and the state of her father.

Because Joey wasn't blind. She knew her father was abusive, and she knew he was an alcoholic, crack and meth addict loser who rode out on welfare. But he was still her father, and like any other victim of abuse, she couldn't shake off the good memories, the times he had been a good father, or the knowledge of why he was the way he was.

And she was always afraid of someone seeing him and believing she would only turn out the same way. Not even Yugi was allowed to visit, and the only reason she had known about the state was because she had tried to throw a surprise party for her friend in fifth grade. That had ended up with her and Joey making an escape out her friend's bedroom window and into a dumpster below.

Now that Kaiba had seen...seen past Joey's pride to the ugliness…

They left Biology in quiet. In the lunch line Yugi found the courage to ask for the rest of the story.

"I said no and told him to leave, of course," said Joey, hands in her pockets.

"I'm sure you made it a bit more colorful than that."

"Duh." She gave a weak smile. "Gotta decorate." But her mouth fell and she looked back to the floor.

Yugi fingered her bookbag strap before saying the next thing that was on her mind. "You liked him, didn't you?"

Joey snorted. "Like hell."

"Then why are you so…" Disappointed? Heartbroken? Sad?

"I ain't nothing. Just embarrassed." Joey scratched her nose. "Yeah. Embarrassed. Look, I've been meaning to ask, but when I turn eighteen," she looked more self-conscious than Joey had the ability to look, which lifted the gloom immediately.

"Yeah?"

"It's okay if you say no, but you know I've been looking at apartments and stuff to move into. Well…" Joey fidgeted. "They're just a little on the expensive side, so I was wondering if there was any chance I could, um…"

Yugi beamed. "Do you even have to ask?"

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"You were going to ask if you could take me up on that offer to come live with us, huh?"

Joey flushed. "Now it ain't charity! I want your grandpa to tell me how much I need to pay for rent and utilities and all that! I can take care of myself!"

"Of course you can, but don't be surprised when he gets mad and tells you to forget rent."

When Joey started to splutter in protest, Yugi butted in with a, "Would you rather stay at home?"

And since Joey didn't, they worked on details and got more and more excited as they got to the end of the line, received their food, and headed to their new lunch spot ever since Tea had tried digging her nose into the sexual affairs of Mr. Keith.

Joey's birthday would be at the beginning of November. As October was already half way through, that mean they had two weeks or so to figure out any details that might be involved with becoming a full fledged adult. Rather than wait for November 3rd to party, however, Joey and Yugi thought a Halloween celebration would do just as well.

"I heard the sports and theater department are working together on this year's Haunted Hall," said Yugi. "It's going to be sick! You have to come this year at least, Joey, you have to! It's your last chance!"

Joey wasn't too keen on the idea. "Can't we just creep out little kids like we do every year?"

"But this year's special, and it's our last chance!"

"Ugh, you know how I am about ghosts."

"I'll protect you!"

"Oh, goodie, I feel so safe. Protected by the squirt. If anything you'll be clinging on to me."

Yugi pouted, but grinned nonetheless. That was probably more or less true. "Fine, then you'll have to come. If I go alone who knows what will happen."

Joey agreed to reluctantly, but only after Yugi bribed her with a whole sheet of her special pumpkin cookies—which seemed counterintuitive as Yugi had been planning on giving her some of those cookies anyways. It was just the first year Yugi made them for trick o' treaters, Joey had ended up eating so many she got sick right in front of a group third graders. Not the best trick Joey could have played.

But life was finally starting to get back to normal. The up climb of the roller coaster.

But Yugi still felt as though the fall was yet to come.


	21. Of Cats and Demons

**Pretty please review. :3**

Chapter 21

"Are you a cat person or a dog person?"

It was their last lesson of the month and Halloween day when Mr. Atem asked this. He had been popping odd questions like this every other lesson or so, the last being, "What do you want to do when you graduate?" which Yugi responded with her plans to help her grandfather with his store and prepare to take over when he wanted to retire. Mr. Atem hadn't seemed surprised as most usually were when they heard Yugi didn't feel up to going to college, and had just moved on with practice.

"I'm a cat person," said Yugi with a stretch. "Dogs are smelly and too hyperactive."

"Same here." He moved the papers to the beginning of the song. "What you going to be for Halloween?"

"Not sure. You got any ideas?"

Now this surprised him. He gave her a once over before jutting out his bottom lip in thought and plunking one of the piano keys. Once more the urge to simply glomp him in adoration came and was instantly smothered by Yugi. Why'd he have to look so cute doing something so inane?

"Cat comes to mind, but I think that's just because we're talking about it." Yugi couldn't help but notice his ears reddening again, and wondered if that was his way of being embarrassed.

"Not really scary," said Yugi.

"No. But I don't think you could pull off scary."

Yugi pouted, which made her teacher burst with a cry of laughter and "Don't do that!"

"What?"

"Pout like that, just don't." He wheezed a bit more with mirth, a hand to his face, before pushing back to the song and finishing up the lesson. He once more rewarded her with a strawberry lollipop, and Yugi wondered for once why they were always strawberry flavored, but didn't think much of it as she skipped out to meet Joey to prepare for their Halloween night.

Joey brought over a huge duffle bag of costumes which she and Yugi busted open on reaching the game shop. Yugi's grandfather popped in now again to amuse himself with the various combinations in which the girls found to put old clothes, scraps, and second-hand costumes from years before together. It took hours filled with laughter, some sweat, and music to finally come out with the last minute products of a black cat and a witch.

"Not original, but traditional is good," said Joey as she touched up her pounds of black eyeliner, making her look positively Goth if it weren't for the hat, torn up black clothes, and black and white striped stockings. "I mean, we're practically refreshing compared to all the other girls going out in freaking lingerie. What's up with that?"

Yugi didn't know what to say to that, as she was still trying not to think too much about how she had turned out exactly as Mr. Atem had suggested. Joey had agreed that Yugi couldn't be scary, and so she had been the one to insist on jamming the ultra fuzzy cat ears and tail on Yugi. She had then slipped on the best black she could find that wouldn't make her look like a frumpy bag trying to pull off as a cat.

"Turn around, let me help you with yer whiskers."

Joey kept her tongue between her teeth as she traced whiskers, then colored in Yugi's nose into the shape of a cat. She added some extras that really pulled it together, complete with enlarging Yugi's already chibi-like purple eyes.

"As always, you do amazing," said Yugi into the mirror, pleased. She lifted up one of her mittened hands and cocked her head. The effect made her drop her face into the counter.

"Woa! Watch the face!" cried Joey, yanking her back up.

"I look like a little kid," moaned Yugi.

"It's called cute."

"Maybe that's why girls wear lingerie for Halloween. To pretend they're grown up."

Joey snorted—loudly. "The only thing their being is sluts, pretending or otherwise. Come on, let's get that stupid Haunted Hall over with so we can have some real fun!"

"What, hiding behind trees and scaring grade schoolers?"

"Correction, me hiding behind the trees and you luring them _to_ the trees."

"That's sick and wrong. You're totally going to get arrested."

"What, just me?"

Yugi grinned, cocked her head, and pawed her hands up by her face. "I'm too cute."

$&^%^&(&(*^&^$##$*&

Someone had lit a fire in a barrel behind the school, where the entrance to the hall decked out for Halloween had been covered by its usual drapes of black plastic. Occasionally a draft would blow out one of the flaps of black just enough for Yugi to spy the flash of a strobe light. A few kids dressed up like zombies or some other post-apocalyptic grunge huddled about the fire, laughing and drinking what Yugi sincerely hoped was soda.

Joey and Yugi got into the short line in front of the desk, which was manned by a shadowy, dark figure. Yugi held the money, as it had been her way of bribing Joey to come by offering to pay the ticket.

"Eight dollars," said a familiar voice.

Yugi's heart skipped a beat and her face flamed. Oh why oh why-Joey elbowed her in the ribs and slipped her a smirk.

Sure enough, the 'shadowy' figure was none other than Mr. Atem, who had somehow escaped Yugi's notice by keeping to the shadows thrown by the fire and bowing his head. He didn't sit behind the desk, but stood to the side of it, his thumbs hooked into his belt.

But the moment Yugi took in his costume, a hot thumping started up somewhere between her legs and the heat in her face had flushed out till she wondered if every ounce of her blood was trying to get out of her body.

Leather. Black, slick leather, from head to toe, in something crossed between a biker and a grungy, hard core rock star. He wore multiple belts with heavy buckles, bracelets with studs, a choker, and gleaming stud earrings. He only wore a leather vest on his top half, revealing a line of tempting, well built chest.

It was a while before Yugi finally made it up to his face, and by then Joey had started snickering and Mr. Atem mirrored her friend's smirk. He wore make up, but only enough to complete the rock star I'm-going-to-eat-you-or-smash-you look.

"Hello, kitty," he purred.

Aw damn, he _purred._

Yugi went to say something, went to order the tickets, went to act stupid-damn- _normal_ , but both her body and her brain had been overwhelmed. Why did she have to be in this stupid cat costume, _why?_

Joey came to save the day, slipping Yugi's bills out of her shirt. Girlfriend's could do that sort of thing. "Two student tickets, Mr. Scary."

"Four," he said, stretching out a hand with a thick, silver ring. Once they were in his hand, he handed them their paper tickets. For a moment, a wild thought came to Yugi's usually very tame mind that Mr. Atem would slip her own ticket down her shirt and into her bra where he had seen Joey slip out her money for the tickets, but of course he didn't. In fact, he handed both tickets to Joey, his hand not coming near her.

Some wiring in her brain must have sparked in one last attempt to respond to the emergency, because Yugi suddenly blurted, "What are you doing here?"

"This is on school property and an event funded by the school. Teacher chaperone, that sort of thing. And since Mr. Keith, the original director of this event, is in a lovely hell hole called jail…"

Yugi ducked her head. She shouldn't have asked, not because of his answer, but because, for some reason, his voice just added to the leather look. She had never before even liked leather, or really even given it any thought. She thought it was just some weird stuff Catwoman or Batman wore, not something that could make her all hot and uncomfortable and…

Joey tugged on her wrist, still chuckling.

"What's the matter, Yug? Scared?"

She snapped a glare at Joey. That's right, laugh it up, jerk. Two could play this game. "You're the one who wanted to scare grade schoolers because you're terrified of these things."

Joey was nonplussed. Of course. Even with words Yugi couldn't throw a punch. Figures.

As they approached the wafting drapes of black plastic, one of the zombies looked up from the fire to Yugi. He shifted and nudged one of his comrades who also looked up at them passing. For a brief second, Yugi wondered if they recognized her or something. She didn't think she recognized them. At least, not with all that make up. Wasn't this event hosted by the school's theater department? That stage make up, wow.

Joey's amusement ended the moment they slipped past the plastic and into the strobe lit blackness. The plastic hid whatever made the school hall recognizable.

"Shit, now I'm going to have a headache." She put a hand over her eyes.

"I think that's the doorway over there."

"Why you like this crap..." muttered Joey, letting Yugi take her hand and lead her to where the black plastic parted and the strobe light ended.

Several grotesque scenes and jump scares later, Joey shot back out the plastic flaps, followed by an amused and impressed Yugi. She did her best not to laugh as Joey ran out into the parking lot, cursing and twisting her witch's hat into knots. She glanced over at the desk to see if Mr. Atem was still there (or maybe to see him in all that leather again), just to find that, not only that he was, but he was looking right at her. Flushed, she quickly looked away to see one of the zombies from the fire almost to her and calling her name. It took a few flustered seconds, in which she considered running after Joey, to recognize the face under all the makeup and without the trademark pompadour.

"Tristan?"

"You all right?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

He gestured towards the entrance to the Haunted Hall. "Don't you scare easily?"

If he didn't sound honestly concerned, she would have figured him to be making fun of her. Past him she caught some of the others around the fire nudging each other and whispering. Tristan followed her gaze.

"The rest of the team," he said, grinning. "Wrestlers' drew the short straw this year to take the entrance and this is the best we could come up with."

"Makeup's good," said Yugi.

"One of the guys has a girlfriend who is into movie make up, she's the one who did it. So you're not afraid?"

"Not really…"

"Why most people and not this?"

Yugi's attention went straight to her shoes. She had explained it to Joey millions of times. "Well, it's not real, is it? And it's not like any of that in there can hurt me. I like being surprised though."

"And people are real," he said, nodding as though he understood, but he stopped quickly. "You're kind of weird—in a good way!"

She chuckled. "No, I am weird. It's fine."

An awkward silence fell between them, where Tristan tapped the toe of his shoe on the ground and Yugi fiddled with the paper ticket in her paws. Some of the wrestlers started snickering.

"Uh, Yugi, I've been meaning to ask for a bit now…" He tried to meet her eye just to duck his chin back down. "Would you, um, like to go to dinner with me sometime? My treat. As a thank you for…for what you did, and an apology for what an asshole I was to you, though I think it's going to take a lot more than dinner to make up for beating on you like that."

Dinner? Yugi couldn't see why not, especially if he just wanted to apologize. She could understand that completely, including the need to do something to make up for it.

So she smiled, hoping it would calm his nerves. She understood that feeling too. "Sure. Still have my number?"

Tristan visible relaxed. "Y-Yeah, I—"

"Hold it right there!"

Joey the Wicked Witch had returned, and she stomped right in-between the two of them.

"Who said you could ask Yugi out? Hell, who said you can even talk to her? I should punch out your lights for what you did!"

Tristan stumbled back in surprise, but quickly caught his footing to growl back, which added to his undead visage.

"Who do you think you are? Her Mom?"

"Whatever works, it won't change how my fist is going to feel on your face!" Joey cracked her knuckles with a toothy smirk.

"Woa! Joey, hang on a minute!" Yugi tried to get around her friend, but Joey stopped her with one long leg.

"Trust me, Yug, he ain't worth your time."

"You don't even know me!" cried Tristan.

"Please, guys, calm down, it's just dinner-"

"Break it up, people."

Mr. Atem had sauntered over, and in the firelight his red eyes glittered like a demon's. Even though he was shorter than Tristan and the same height as lanky Joey, the formidable figure he carved in all that leather and spikes pushed all the teenagers into instant recoil. The wrestlers around the fire that had reacted to Tristan being threatened sat back down and tried to look uninterested. The short line of kids who were waiting for their tickets watched on in interest.

Tristan scowled. "I could report you for throwing me at the lockers like that, teach."

"And I would simply pull out the fact that I was defending the girl you were beating on." Mr. Atem smirked, and the effect could have made babies cried. Now more than ever, he was terrifying, and it amazed Yugi that the kind, gentle person who taught her music and this man were one and the same. "Just back off from the girls and we won't have any trouble. Same goes to you, Josephine."

Joey 'hmph'ed, tossed back her messy mane of dirt blond hair, and took up Yugi's arm.

"Let's get outta here."

Yugi tried to give her most apologetic look to Tristan, but he only had eyes for the teacher in front of him, and it wasn't with nice feelings. A little twinge of worry for Mr. Atem made her chest constrict.

Her and Joey were almost to her grandfather's car, which they were borrowing for the night, when Mr. Atem called her name. Joey got in while Yugi waited by the car as her teacher approached, backlighted by the gold of the fire, and lined by the silver of the moon. She could see one of the zombie wrestlers had the till now and was passing out the tickets.

"A word, Yugi?"

"Sure. What's up?"

He stopped at the trunk of the car, thumbs once more tucked into his belts. The lines and curves held in by the leather made her burst with sweat and she desperately prayed that the dark would hide how red she had gone. She shouldn't be thinking such thoughts about her teacher.

"Don't go with Tristan, and if you must, take Joey with you."

Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't this.

"Why? He's not a bad guy."

"Anyone who has the capability to lose to their emotions that badly to beat on an innocent bystander half their size is not someone to be trusted on their own, not to mention he's probably dealing with a lot of stress right now with the upcoming court date."

Yugi shivered. Oh yes. The date which had been arranged when the cops came over to her house. She still had to testify.

But a little curl of indignation lit up in her gut.

"Mr. Atem," she said quietly. "Do you know what Mr. Keith was doing to him when I walked by that day?"

"It doesn't matter, he took it out on you for no—"

"He thought I heard him being raped. By his wrestling coach, who had also blackmailed him should anyone find out."

Mr. Atem only paused for a second. "Yugi, I'm just concerned for your safety."

"Aren't you just a little too concerned for a teacher?"

She had said it without thinking, but the moment those words slipped out of her mouth ice slid over them. It was as though the night had suddenly dropped several degrees. A sharp breeze brushed through, emphasizing the hard quiet that followed.

"I'm sorry," he said, tone flat. "You're probably right. This isn't any of my business. I hope the rest of your Halloween goes well."

Mr. Atem left, his boots giving smart raps against the pavement. Back in the Haunted Hall, a girl screamed and some of the wrestlers laughed.


	22. Lullaby

**I'm putting up my Wednesday update early because a storm is coming through and my internet is about as reliable as a Lemon car. Hope you all like it!**

Chapter 22

"I suck."

"Yep. Definitely screwed up."

"He's never going to talk to me again."

"He's a teacher, he has to talk to ya."

"I so suck. And he looked so nice!"

"I think the word you're looking for is hot. Damn!"

"Hot…auuuugggh! I'm such a creeeeeeeeeep!"

"Better take another scoop."

Yugi languidly flopped her hand holding the spoon into the tub and lifted her head only long enough to slip the mound of frozen chocolate into her mouth. Then she went back down, waiting for the ice cream to melt down her throat.

Joey was on her other side, still in her tights and witch's dress, although she had washed off her makeup. Outside the chatter of the last Trick O' Treaters for the night could be heard. A doorbell went off below.

"And he was worried about you and everything," said Joey. "And you didn't even thank him."

"Stooooooop!"

"Though I'm impressed you didn't simply melt on the spot with all dat leather."

"I should have melted. I should have died. How can any man be so beautiful?"

"Did you really just say that?"

Yugi didn't say anything. Joey groaned.

"Don't ever call Mr. Atem beautiful. Ever. He was a lot of things, but beauty ain't one of them. Terrifying was more like it, jeeze. When he came over and started glaring at us, I thought I was gonna pee."

"You shouldn't have tried to pick a fight with Tristan."

"Someone's got to keep you safe. I've told you before, you're naïve. I could see _Date Rape_ on his face from a mile away."

"No you didn't. Why would he do something like that?"

Joey leveled a serious glare at Yugi and crossed her arms over his chest.

"A guy who's been sexually abused and manipulated like that goes funny in the head, Yug. Anyone would, but especially a dude. They get this 'dominated by the man' complex and they hate it, and a lot of the times they try to gain back their pride and power by dominating someone else. It's almost instinctual. I know you want to see the good in everyone—"

"It was just dinner."

"—but you have to believe me on this one. And that choir teacher of yours ain't stupid either."

"But Tristan and I are together on this one! I have to support him through this—we're supporting each other!"

"And I'm not saying you can't, just don't agree to be alone with him like that. I know you don't want to, but please, trust me on this one."

Yugi opened her mouth to argue, to defend the broken kid she could see in her head, unable to believe that Joey could know a guy she just met better than her, but then her grandfather's voice echoed back from her memory, telling her that she'd be safe as long as she listened. Listen and trust those who cared for her and only wanted her happiness.

With a sigh, she scooped more ice cream into her mouth and went back to languishing on the floor once more.

"Why did he look so good?"

"Oh, are we back to Mr. Atem?"

"I don't even like leather, Joey."

"I don't even like your teacher or leather and I could appreciate that. Ugh, eww, now I feel all gross. Pass me that ice cream, will you?"

Yugi did. "It made me feel really weird."

"Like you wanted to body tackle him and wrap your limbs about him like a man eating squid?"

"Yeah."

"…Yep. We're creeps."

"Do you think Seto would look good in lea-"

"Do NOT finish that sentence! I ain't talking to him."

"I don't think that's fair."

"What isn't fair is him stalking me like that. How am I going to get my pride back, huh?"

"He was just trying to keep you safe. Like Mr. Atem was for me, right?"

Joey fell silent. When she pulled her spoon out of her mouth, her jaw was jutted out, like a cross between a pout and a scowl. "I can keep my own damn self safe."

"Fine." Yugi didn't feel like putting up a fight. It was too late for that and she was too depressed.

$%*&^%$ #$#%^&%^

Monday came like any ordinary Monday. Yugi itched to get a word with Mr. Atem in order to apologize, but when she finally did before the bell rang for Choir, he just said 'no need to apologize,' and ushered her back into her spot in the soprano section. Despite this, she still felt as though some sort of wall had come between them. He wouldn't meet her eye, nor was he as quick to smile.

After school voice lessons turned out to be one of the pre-assigned days for Yugi to work with the orchestra. At first she couldn't even open her mouth and had to do everything in her power not to burst out crying in front of them all. When Mr. Atem suggest she sit in the first violin section so as to help her make the connection of the orchestra just being another choir she would be singing with, she managed to squeak out the first few verses with the rest of the orchestra before time ran out and everyone had to get home. It was more than she could ever expect of herself, though, so Yugi was elated.

Mr. Atem canceled Wednesday after school practice, something about rewarding Yugi for doing so well with Secrets by giving her a break. Yugi found herself wishing he had just given her one of those strawberry lollipops and let her sing with him instead.

In choir he was the same as always. She couldn't catch a difference in the way he acted towards everyone else either.

Perhaps only Yugi was the one who had been affected. Perhaps it was just her paranoia.

Or perhaps it was because no poems were slipped into her locker to distract her.

"Do you think he's getting bored of me?" Yugi asked when she opened her locker Friday morning and found nothing she hadn't put in there the day before.

"I doubt it," said Joey.

Seto Kaiba came up then to try and talk to her, but Joey rudely twisted about and marched down the hall without another look. The tall boy gave Yugi a barely disguised look of dismay.

"Did I really screw it all up?" he asked her, so quietly Yugi had to strain to hear above the noise of the students passing through the halls.

Yugi tried not to let too much of her pity show. "I'm sorry my friend's pride means so much to her."

"No, I understand," he said, a little louder this time, but not much, before he too also walked away, leaving Yugi alone by her poem-empty locker.

On that same day, for the first time since she'd known him, Mr. Atem walked in after the first bell had rung. The choir students instantly caught on to the negative aura emanated by their teacher and scrambled to their seats with a hissy attempt to be quiet. Yugi could only twist her fingers at the sight of how pale her teacher looked, or the glassy way his red eyes looked over them.

He took a moment to breathe deep. Then, he leaned over to the piano, and plucked the first few notes of their scales.

"And if you have any mercy on my soul," he said in a gravely tone that made several members 'eep' in fright. "You will keep your phones in your pockets and your voices in tune."

For once, not even the basses dared to mess around. The choir went through their warm ups, followed the best they could to the notes he led them with, then obediently got their folders out for their first song.

But when Mr. Atem opened his mouth and lifted his finger to begin them, he froze and suddenly snapped it closed. What little color there had been in his face seemed to drain away, leaving him a muggy, glue-like sort of grey.

Without a word he strode out of the classroom.

Everyone exchanged looks. Besides Yugi, Tea had a hand to her mouth.

"You don't think he's sick, do you?" she asked her.

"He looked like he was going to puke," said a kid in the tenor section.

"Isn't it against the rules to come to school sick?" whispered another girl.

"He looked kind of like he was in pain too, don't you think?"

Yugi's forehead beaded with sweat. She thought she might bend over with the strength of her worry. She had just stepped down from the riser to follow after him when the door open and Mr. Atem came back in, pale, but seeming composed.

"I think we'll call it good for today," he said, more level than he usually was by this hour.

With that, he went into his office and closed the door.

The whispers started up again. Phones were coming out, probably to spread the gospel of the plagued demon teacher.

Yugi, however, made a beeline for the door. She hesitated only for a moment before twisting the handle and stepping in.

Mr. Atem sat in his chair, leaning back, with an ice pack over his eyes. He had turned off the lights as well, so she could only make him out by the light from the classroom and the screensaver on his monitor.

"Do you mind?" he grumbled.

"Migraine?" she asked.

At the sound of her voice, he let out a soft sigh through his nose. "Oh, Yugi. Yeah. Migraine. Think it was a soprano in third period that did me in, but it's been building all week."

And since she could feel half of the class's gaze on her back, she quietly closed the door behind her.

"Is there anything I can do?" she said softly, hoping not to make it worse. "Have you taken your ibprophin?"

"Can't. Threw it back up."

Yugi winced. "Maybe you should go home."

"I will once I get it down. Can't drive like this."

"I can drive you."

"That's sweet of you, Yugi, but I'll be fine. I have to learn to manage these on my own. I'm a big boy."

He gave a shaky breath at the end of this and used an arm to press the ice pack into his eyes. Yugi got the feeling that she should leave him now, especially before some of the other students got curious and decided to poke their heads in too, but the twisting worry still remained, knotting her stomach. She bit her lip. She didn't have to poke through her brain much for the only remaining option for helping him to come to her. The only question now was whether he wasn't exaggerating, because if he had been, she'd probably make it worse and end up being humiliated.

And then there was the wall between them. That wall she couldn't shake off, and she couldn't sing as long as it was there. She was too scared…

She took a deep breath, all the way down to her gut. She had to be brave. Make the choice—just step forward and do it. She knew what to say, she knew what to do, and she couldn't leave him in pain like this. She just couldn't.

"Yami…"

A stillness came over him. She thought he might have caught his breath.

"Yes?"

"Would you…like me to sing to you? I can be quiet."

There was only a brief pause before he said, "That would be…wonderful. If you could."

And she knew just the song to sing.

Willing her voice to be as gentle as it could possibly be, she breathed into _Carolina in the Pines_.

She took her time, turning the folk song into a lullaby. At one point she thought her heart would snap open and let loose all the yearning she had for him, maybe even release that beautiful dream that brought tears to her eyes, but at the last second she reigned it back it so it wouldn't clog up her throat. But despite Joey's protests, Yugi meant it when she called him beautiful. He was the pinewood banjo beneath the fall leaves. He was the harmony to the melody under the Christmas lights. The strength and safe place from the monsters. The smile at the piano. The warm hand that fit so perfectly around hers.

When she finally closed her mouth, the bell outside the door had already gone off and had been blessedly muffled. She waited for Mr. Atem to excuse her or say something, but his breathing had evened off into the steady rhythm of sleep. Cautiously, she went forward and dared to lift off the ice pack from his face, but he didn't open his eyes nor did he react. So he really was asleep.

She couldn't help but smile at his sleeping face. It was in that moment that she knew that, even if she met the writer of the poems, no one would be able to distract her love for her teacher. And, for once, in that peaceful, darkened office, she was okay with that.


	23. We're Not Good

Chapter 23

When she came back to check up on him after English class, she found his last period coming out with confused looks and mutters about Mr. Atem ditching out on class and wondering whether he was okay or not. So it was with some alarm she opened the door to Mr. Atem's darkened office just to find him exactly how she had left him, not a hair out of place.

Chuckling, and feeling far too loving for comfort, she called his name softly. When he didn't wake up, she nudged him and he came to with a groan.

"Oh, Yugi," he said, squinting at her blearily. "Sorry, I dozed off. Has the bell rung yet?"

"School's over, Mr. Atem."

For a minute, he didn't seem to understand her. Then he sat up, woke up his computer by wiggling the mouse, and squinted at the clock in the corner. With a groan he fell back into his chair.

"Aw damn…"

"I came back from English and met some of the kids from your last period."

"Shit shit _shit_."

"It's okay, you looked really awful. Do you at least feel better now?"

"I feel amazing," he said through his hands. "But that's not the point. Ugh, I can't make mistakes like this in my first year. Now Tom's going to think I'm some irresponsible kid, shit! I'm sorry, Yugi, please excuse my language. Thank you for coming back to wake me up."

"No problem. I was going to see if you still needed someone to drive you home."

"Thank you, but I think I'll be fine now." He dropped his hands to re-wake up his computer again and clicked on the browser. "Maybe if I send him an email…"

She figured that was her queue to leave and moved to open the door.

"Yugi,"

She stopped with her fingers on the knob. Mr. Atem wasn't looking at her, but at the monitor, and had his hand to his mouth so all she saw was the crinkle about his red eyes.

"Thank you again. Really. I can't tell you how much pain I was in."

"Did my singing really helped?"

"Yeah." He said, a bit awkwardly, then turned to give her a grin. "Maybe I should keep a recording of your voice in my migraine kit from now on."

"Why can't you?"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Lent it to Higgen's to listen to so now it's lost. I don't even know how that man keeps his own clothes on his back without losing them."

"Well," a voice told her to stop, but she said it anyways. "As long as I'm in school, I'm happy to sing to you whenever you have a migraine."

The same sort of stillness that had come over him before when she had offered to sing for him came again. He ducked his chin down and looked sideways, hiding his eyes from her gaze.

"I…"

Yugi clenched her fingers together. She should take it back, she had said the wrong thing, she was—but what if he said yes? What if he said he needed her? That he-

"I can't," he said. "It's…it's not a good idea. I mean, this is hard to say, but I am still a teacher and if it got around you were alone with me so often, because I'm sure you're not brave enough to sing in front of whatever class I have going on…"

Her heart went cold. Of course. Of course, how could she have been so stupid. She herself had pointed out how he had been paying far too much attention to her on Halloween.

The wall she thought she had banished reappeared, twice as strong as before.

"I'm not saying I think you'd do anything, but things can happen and, well…"

"It's okay, I get it." Yugi congratulated herself for sounding perfectly casual.

"Thanks. I'm glad you understand. Also, I think it might be best if we canceled our lessons for now—except for practice with the Orchestra, of course. I think I've done all I can to uphold our deal and there's nothing more I can teach you about being brave. So, I guess, if you can't do the song at the Christmas assembly I owe you $500, eh?" He tried to sound jovial, but it somehow turned flat once it reached Yugi's ears.

"Yeah. I was thinking you'd forgotten for a bit."

"Nope. I'm holding to it, so don't feel pressure if you can't sing that day. The orchestra knows as well, and they'll support you on whatever choice you make."

"I know. Thank you."

And after exchanging a smile and farewell with him, she walked out of the office and into the emptying hallway.

On that next Monday morning, a week and a half from the Christmas concert, rumors started to spread that Mr. Atem was resigning once the first semester was over.

 **Hey! If you managed to get a hold of a copy of my book "Out of Duat," please leave a review on Amazon! I'm really hurting for some. . If you'd be so kind to, that is. I'm already grateful that you lot are taking the time out of your lives to read Erase Me.**


	24. To Flee

**Because I'm nice. ^.^ And extra update for my peeps. Please let me know what you think! Oh, and currently I'm rewriting this story for publication in the non-fanfiction world! What do you think of that? It's definitely getting a new face lift, including the story of how Yugi and Joey met and why Yugi has such a bad case of social anxiety.**

Chapter 24

"It's all my fault."

"Come on, Yug, no one is _that_ sensitive."

"But this all happened after I told him he was paying too much attention for a teacher! Now he's leaving…"

"Nah, you're seriously thinking too much into this. Trust me, it's just in your head. It ain't your fault."

"He's still leaving though…"

Joey didn't have anything to say to that. The rest of the student body talked and laughed behind them at the tables, including the one Joey and Yugi had slowly start visiting since Tea started giving them the cold shoulder. Outside the cafeteria windows, a few flakes of snow fell from the sky, like dandruff. The Christmas concert was in less than a week, and Yugi still hadn't managed to get out from the violin section and sing in front of the orchestra, nor had she decided whether or not she wanted to risk performing in front of the school. She still got nauseous at the mere thought of it, and with Mr. Atem no longer attending the practices, it felt like her greatest supporter, her greatest strength, had vanished.

Joey tapped a Cow Tail from the vending machine against her bottom lip. Her phone buzzed.

Yugi sighed. "Will you answer it already? It's been doing that all day."

"It's just Kaiba."

"Are you seriously still giving him the silent treatment? Come on, Joe, he loves you!"

Joey flinched as though Yugi had said her hair was on fire instead and stared at her. "Okay, him liking me I didn't believe in the first place, but don't you think love is a little extreme?"

"He offered to let you come live with him." Yugi said flatly. "Seto Kaiba. Anti-social, high and mighty, 'the student body is nothing but cattle' Seto Kaiba, or have you forgotten?"

Joey shifted uneasily. "Well, that just shows how immoral he is, doesn't he? Like I'd move in with some guy I ain't married to, that's just ask'n to be white trash."

"That's a bit of a stretch."

Joey shrugged and tore off a bite of her Cow Tail. Her phone buzzed again. With a significant look from Yugi, the gangly girl sighed and slipped out her phone. She just had time to glance at the top text before snorting and moving to put her phone back. With a speed unexpected from the docile Yugi, she snatched the phone from Joey's hand.

"Oy! Give that back!"

"No way, I'm not letting you pass up this opportunity!" Yugi flipped open the phone.

Joey squeaked and flung herself over her shoulders. "Give it back! I'm stronger than you!"

"Get off, you're going to squish me to death!"

"Give me back my phone!"

"Not unless you promise to at least talk to him!"

"No!"

"Just hear what he has to say! He apologized, didn't he?"

"It's my business, get out of my love life!"

"No can do, best friend's right—augh! My peas!" The lunch tray that had been besides Yugi on the bench let the little pile of peas go flying as her hip bumped into it.

"Give it back!"

"No!"

Yugi stretched out sideways with every inch she had, ending up practically horizontal as Joey scrabbled up her side. Just as Joey managed to reach the phone, a tall boy stepped out from the entrance of the cafeteria they were sitting next to and plucked out the phone. Yugi and Joey toppled off the bench, onto the lunch tray, and then the floor.

Seto Kaiba smirked. "Thanks, Moto, but I can handle myself."

Yugi, who had remains of mash potato plastered along her forearm, flushed.

Joey, however, scrambled to her feet, instantly on guard mode. With the speed of a traffic light her face went from pale to red.

"Didn't I already tell you I didn't want to hear it?"

"I still think I'm right," he said.

"Like hell you do!"

"Uh, I'll just make myself scarce." Yugi moved to crawl away, but was stopped by her friend stomping on the back of her shoe. Stopped by a flat tire.

"You're allowing yourself to be a victim. You aren't helping your father at all by working to pay off _his_ debts, you're just feeding into his bad habits."

"Who hired you to tell me what to do with my life?"

"I'm using my brain, puppy, maybe you should try using yours for once and listen to me."

"No!"

"Now you're just being stubborn. If you want to do what's best for your father, you should at least get out of that house. I don't care if you take any of my offers or not, I'm sure Yugi's asked you to come live with her multiple times."

"I turn eighteen soon enough!"

"But will you really leave? Will you really have the guts to leave your pathetic father in all his filth and debt and meth?"

The cafeteria had quitted at the sound of Joey's yelling. From her vantage point half sitting on the floor, Yugi could see kids getting out of their seats to get a better view of what was going on. The tables closest to them were openly staring.

Yugi winced. "Uh, Joey?"

But Joey's full attention was on Seto, hackles raised, hands tight at her sides. "Why do you care, Kaiba? Why do you fucking care what I do with my life?"

"I thought that much would be obvious." He dropped his chin, leveling a smoldering stare at her from beneath his eyebrows. "I love you."

Now not even Joey could miss how quiet the cafeteria had gotten. Her eyes flickered to the watching school, her face growing darker by the second, but the intensity of Seto's stare held her. Joey wilted, fidgeted, and bit her lip. It was almost as though Seto Kaiba had drawn out her most horrible memory rather than just confessed his love. Even her eyes started to brighten with terrified tears.

She bolted.

Yugi scrambled to her feet. "Joey!"

Seto Kaiba groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn it, now I've really done it."

"I'm really sorry, Kaiba, I just—I don't think anybody's ever confessed to her before, really. Um…"

Seto didn't act as though he heard her. He handed Yugi Joey's phone and left out the same entrance he had come in without another word, leaving Yugi with the spilled tray of food, a forgotten half-eaten Cow Tail, and an ogling audience.

Horrified at the idea of somebody coming to question her about what just happened, she ran out the door to the west hall which Joey had taken, plaintively calling her name.

When the bell went off for the end of lunch, Yugi was still looking. She had checked outside, run down each of the halls, peeked into the auditorium, gym, spare classrooms, as well as the girl's bathrooms and front office. Gasping for breath, Yugi stopped outside the wrestling gym to catch her breath. If only Joey hadn't left her phone with Yugi, she could have called her, but then Joey probably wouldn't even pick it up. Like when they had had their fight, when Joey was upset, her first instinct was to hide and try to get a handle on it on her own.

But Yugi couldn't shake off the look of fear she had seen on her friend's face.

Students passed by her in the hall as they made their way to their next classes.

"Did you hear? Kaiba confessed his love to that butch girl—"

"—didn't think he liked that type—"

"Gay and in denial, maybe?"

Yugi's fingers dug into her knees and her teeth went on edge. She clenched her eyes shut, not to keep herself from screaming, but to hate herself because she couldn't scream when she wanted so badly to. How could they say those things about her? Joey was _gorgeous_. Yugi knew this for a fact, as she had always been secretly jealous of her friend's natural beauty. If she didn't dress in baggy, grungy boy clothes and ignore her hair and makeup, not only would ever girl in the school get kicked out of the competition, but boys would be the least of Joey's worries.

Yugi just hoped her friend wasn't nearby to hear these things.

"Yugi?"

Mr. Atem had stopped in front of her. He looked pale again, but well enough and had a smoothie from the same Greek shack he had taken Yugi to in a different age. Her heart did a painful little half-jump and squiggle as she straightened.

"What's up?"

"Have you seen Joey?" she asked. "Please, she's really upset, I have to find her."

"I just got back from lunch. What happened?"

Yugi hesitated. Despite her dislike of saying anything about what was clearly Joey's business, Mr. Atem was bound to hear about it eventually. Why did Seto have to blurt that out in front of the whole school? Tactless!

"Seto Kaiba sort of confessed his love to her," said Yugi, trying to smile, but failing. "And it sort of scared her. A lot."

"Scared her?" Mr. Atem frowned. "Did he threaten her?"

"No, he didn't do anything like that! He's actually been really sweet, he's just concerned about…about, um, how stuff is at her house and he sort of let it slipped that he loved her. I don't really know why she was so scared. Surprised, yeah, she's never had a boy say something like that to her before, but not scared."

Mr. Atem nodded, taking a sip from his smoothie, brow furrowed in mirroring concern. Once he swallowed he said, "If I see her, I'll let you know. Have you tried calling her?"

Yugi showed him the phone and he mouthed a 'ah.'

There was an awkward little pause where they waited for the other to say something else. When the late bell for the next class rang, Yugi uttered a quick good-bye and sped off to her next period, heart still tripping uncomfortably in her chest.

After the Christmas concert, Mr. Atem would be gone. He'd probably even move out of town to find a job elsewhere. She'd never see him again.

But no, Joey…Joey needed her…Joey…

Yugi didn't make it to class.


	25. Bravery

**Okay! Okay! I'll put up another chapter. Jeeze, you can be so onry.**

Chapter 25

In the end, it was Joey who found Yugi. She had hunched up in the unused doorway of an empty classroom for a good cry, but Joey had found her right away and hunched down in front of her. When Yugi looked up, snotty faced and miserable, she had to laugh when she saw Joey was just as puffy eyed and miserable as her.

"Care if I share your moping corner?" said Joey thickly.

"Please," Yugi scooted to the side.

They huddled next to each other, legs intertwining, wiping their noses on their sleeves. Yugi tugged out the old phone from her bag.

"Your phone."

"Thanks."

Sniff. Some motor in a water fountain down the hall turned on with a quiet whine.

"What's up with you?" Joey asked.

"Same old," said Yugi. "You?"

"'Cause I'm an idiot."

"We're all that."

"I'm 'specially that."

"Ah. Wanna say why?"

Joey gave another loud, wet sniff. "Because…because he said he loved me…and I just ran for it. What kinda girl does that? He probably thinks I'm a freak now, though I don't know how he didn't think that before."

"You're not a freak," said Yugi patiently, then froze. "Wait, are you saying you like him?"

Joey cringed and buried her face in her hands with a moan. Yugi, however, straightened, a smile growing on her face.

"You do, don't you?"

"It ain't that simple."

"What do you mean?"

The taller girl gave a loud, heavy sigh that carried years in it. "Look…love, guys and girls, it ain't just liking each other and going on a few dates. It ain't like the romance novels or fun and games or feeling all goo goo. There's so many ways to screw up, and if you screw up with a guy, that's it. You're life is changed forever, whether you get knocked up or you choose a douche bag—because really, you never really know. He could be sweet now and then switch like a light later on. You can't just give someone your heart without risk'n it be'n broken, without risk'n…without risk'n it all. Romance ain't a game. It's the big life changer. At least it is for someone our age, because this ain't playground kissing games anymore."

Yugi frowned. "Joey, he's not asking you to marry him."

"But think about it, Yug. Why do we date? Why do we like someone? Because we want to see if we want to marry them or not. It's either that or break up with them. Love them forever, or heartbreak, there ain't nut'n else."

Yugi moved to argue, excuses coming to her mind, but they didn't come. Because, even as she thought about the reasons she did have, what Joey said made sense. Even to people who denied that or chose to give up on marriage completely, there was that truth hanging in the air. Love would either last forever or not, and it would never leave you unchanged. There was no love without pain.

And Joey feared that pain. She had seen enough of it with her father and mother. Yugi had seen it herself. Cheating, abuse, selfishness, yelling, screaming…

Yugi slumped back into her corner. When Joey gave a quiet sob beneath her arm, the smaller girl gently squeezed her friend's knee.

"But what if it did last forever?" she asked, as much of herself as to Joey.

Joey groaned. "And what's the likelihood of that?"

"But Joey, what if it worked? Can you even get that much happiness without sacrifice? Without willing to risk it? I mean, think of all the great people and the huge things they did in life. It wasn't because they won the lottery or got lucky, but because they worked hard, took a chance, were brave." Yugi stopped as Mr. Atem's words rose to her mind. "And bravery is just a choice. You just choose and move forward. And…I think it's really mature and wise of you to realize just how scary love can be. And, even if you do get hurt, I'll be here, right?"

Joey let out a gurgled little giggle. "Mud tracks and cookies'n cream."

Yugi grinned. "As many tubs as you want. And look at the bright side, at least he's not your teacher."

"I still don't think it's as big of o' deal as your mak'n it, Yug. I mean, it'd be super creepy if he was way old, but he's only twenty-five, and he isn't that bad of a guy. He's the one who found me, you know."

"What?"

"Yeah." Joey dropped her arm to flash Yugi a watery grin. "Found the most awesome hid'n place for me when I told him I just needed to be alone and swore he wouldn't tell a soul. Came by to make me promise to come find you the first thing when I got out, though."

"Where did he suggest you hide?"

"In some dinky small practice room. Some kids started whining about it being locked again, but he just said he didn't have the key. Cool guy, that one. Perhaps I'm not the only one who's gotta be brave."


	26. Larger Than Fear

**And here's your weekly update! Enjoy!**

Chapter 26

It was probably the hardest thing in her life to look Mr. Higgen's in the eye on the morning of the concert and tell him yes. Joey helped her get ready in the bathroom as the school filed into the auditorium for the last Christmas celebration before everyone would be let loose for winter break. A few kids ditched out, but since there were contests after the concert, including random giveaways, they'd stay—to which both Joey and Yugi agreed was just another form of holding a hostage. Most of the student body, however, honestly enjoyed the performances the various art departments put on beforehand, which included funny Christmas skits by the drama department, a drum battle by the percussion section of the band, a rock out by said band, the choir, and then lastly followed by the orchestra.

Yugi slipped on her usual black concert clothes as Joey carefully brushed her hair back into a controlled half-ponytail. That was about the best she could do. The extent of Joey's feminine expertise was in the makeup department, and mainly because she was incredibly fond of cosplay and painting her face up like a monster for pranks.

She went above and beyond for this occasion, though, telling Yugi it was her way of supporting her in this huge, huge step.

Yugi just nodded, and then went into a bathroom stall to throw up.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Joey asked over the retching.

But she had to. Because Mr. Atem had tried so hard to give her courage. Because Mr. Atem wanted to hear her sing. Because he had sung for her as well.

And after today, she'd never see him again. It was the least she could do, because Yugi wanted him to go with her blessing, not with her awkward, creepy love confession hanging over his head.

Though, at this rate, she almost wished she could get away with just telling him she thought he looked desperately hot in leather rather than sing on that stage, even if she was going to be sitting hidden in the violins rather than in front like any normal performer.

Joey carried her change of clothes to the dressing room, which was mainly used by the theater department for costume changes. Before the choir sang their last song, Yugi would change into a different dress and get ready for the orchestra.

As Yugi sat out in the audience in the front row reserved for the choir, Joey gave her shoulder a tight squeeze.

"You look salivating," she said with a smile.

Yugi forced a laugh—it _was_ funny. "At least I have nothing left to throw up."

"The mint in the toothpaste should help."

"Why did you have a toothbrush with you anyways?"

Joey just gave her a weird little smile and went off to sit with the rest of the school. As everyone got seated in the huge auditorium and some black dressed techies got props ready on stage, Yugi noticed Mr. Atem in the distance sitting down with the faculty. He had a look of resignation on his face that made her smile. Probably secretly packing ear plugs for when the students came on with all their minute, out of tune imperfections.

But back in his office, when he had been sick, he had fallen asleep when she had sung. He said her voice made his migraines leave.

Her stomach unknotted just a touch. Teachers sat at the end of every row to glare at any glow of a cell phone, but that didn't stop the students from trying. The poor kids on stage playing out some reindeer skit had to crash one of their props with an explosion played over the speakers to get their first laugh.

Time slipped by Yugi. The band made her eardrums throb. The percussionists were the favorite of the school, as usual. Eventually the time came for her to follow her classmates up to the risers where Mr. Atem waited to direct them (with hair brushed covertly over his ears). She desperately wished for the millionth time that year that she didn't have to stand on the front row.

And yet, as Mr. Atem opened their first song, Yugi's attention wandered. The spotlights on the stage blurred the audience to black shapes. Surrounded by singing voices, with gold light shining above her, the memory of the park came back to her. A memory of a fall night that felt more like summer. Of Uncle Simeon belting his tune and strumming his fat guitar.

Mr. Atem, singing besides her, eyes bright.

And like the sun coming out from the clouds, Yugi realized the girl who had walked into that park besides her music teacher didn't exist anymore. If she had the chance to go back in time and meet herself, they wouldn't be the same person. She had changed. She had stood up in court just a week before and testified that the letter the judge held in his hand was true. Even though she had to go into details once more, she hadn't been shaking. She hadn't worried. Even with Mr. Keith glaring from the front row and Tristan sporting mysterious bruises, she had stood strong without fear—because she wasn't standing on her own. She wasn't standing for herself. She wasn't opening her mouth and putting herself before a literal judge to save herself, but to save all the children who could or had come in Keith's path.

Uncle Simeon hadn't been afraid. He had sung his heart out to Yugi till Yugi herself wasn't afraid, and even stopped hating herself. And though she didn't love herself quite yet, in that moment, beneath the lights, with Mr. Atem conducting her choir and her heart thumping in her chest, she didn't hate herself.

 _'Now, wouldn't that be great if you could make everyone feel like that?'_

What if…someone else in that audience…was just like her? Like Joey? Like Tristan? What if, in her shyness, she had missed the big picture? The big truth that Mr. Atem had been telling her this whole time: that everyone was afraid? That there came a time when everyone had to be brave?

Yugi's cue to sneak out came. Joey was waiting for her outside in the hall with a knee-length, short sleeved green dress, with beautiful purple flowers embroidered into the hems. It was a dress Yugi had pulled out from the depths of her closet, a token from her father from another lifetime.

"Come on, miss. You got ten minutes."

Seto Kaiba stood beside her, leaning against the wall.

"The dressing room is a bit crowded with wannabe divas," he said with a smirk. "Best you use the bathroom."

"Kaiba?" she blinked. Then she looked at Joey, who had pinkened around the ears.

"I'll tell you later, just take your stupid dress and…" she looked to the side, avoiding Yugi's gaze, and grew pinker. "Thank you for…helping me to be brave. I think I really will be okay."

Yugi couldn't stop smiling as she slipped into her green dress in the bathroom, only glanced in the mirror, and then left her clothes with Joey, who gave her a last thumbs up.

"You can do this," she said. "No lie."

"No lie," said Yugi, and she could believe it.

The orchestra was already getting on stage when she walked in. The first violinists' whispered encouragement to her as she passed between them and found her chair. Once she sat down the violinist next to her put an arm around her shoulders.

"We can do this," she murmured.

And that was the last thing Yugi needed to stand up, pick up her microphone, and walk out to the front of the orchestra, right to the space besides the conductor. Mr. Higgens paused in setting out his music to look at her in surprise, which quickly turned into a toothy smile.

The orchestra was seated. Yugi's hands felt too cold to be sweaty, and yet they were as she held the microphone to her side. A quiet hush came after the last violin had made its last adjustments. Mr. Higgens caught her eye, waiting. She nodded, and he turned back to the orchestra.

Somewhere in her mind, Yugi registered that she wasn't shaking. Another part said she had lost her mind completely, because she felt terrified, and yet something else had become more important than her fear. Who cared if she was mocked for this? Someone might need her. Someone might need her to sing this song, to feel that peace that came with music. If anything, Mr. Atem needed her for his migraine. At the very least that should make this worth it. She could cure his headache before he left.

She could show him what marvelous change he had worked in her.

The orchestra breathed into the first notes. Yugi closed her eyes and let them move her to a different plane where everyone made music on summer nights, sitting on blankets in groups beneath trees, lit up by Christmas lights.

A cello next to her signaled her entrance.

Yugi opened her mouth.

And became a part of something much larger than fear.


	27. Want

**Here you go, probably the longest chapter in the story. Oh, and if you got a chance to read my book, "Out of Duat," please pretty please leave a review on Amazon. I'd kiss your feet if you did, but you probably wouldn't want the slobber, so just imagine me getting you one of those induce-diabetes bags of Skittles.**

Chapter 27

The audience in the darkness still applauded as she walked off stage, head high as sky and feet light as Hermes'. Her friends from the orchestra beamed at her as she walked past, having fought the fight with her, and one girl, in the back of a section, put down her violin to clap herself, cheeks bright with tears.

Then she stepped through the black curtain and into the peace and dark of the wings. There, only a techie waited, holding out a water bottle to her with a grin.

"Amazing," he said. "Totally…holy..."

She took the water bottle and thanked him, but kept going, the familiar need to be alone growing within her. Even if she didn't feel like she was going to puke, and even if she had just sung before the entire school, she was still Yugi and could only handle so much noise and company. It wouldn't be for long, she told herself as she went deeper into back stage, past row and row of curtain. Just enough time to comprehend the immensity of what she had just done, then she'd go back to Joey in the hall. Then she'd slip into the crowd for the last of the closing ceremonies.

The cinderblock back wall of the stage came into view as she made it past the last level and she turned to slip behind the backdrop, her head busy with thoughts of finding a quiet spot in the darker, unlit and unused wing of the stage on the other hand.

She was surprised to find the narrow alley made by the thin white backdrop and the cinderblock wall occupied. Her heels clicked a bit too loud as she stumbled to a halt.

Leaning against the wall with his wild head of hair thrown back was Mr. Atem, wearing a pinstripe suit and with his eyes closed. They opened at the sound of her heels and he twisted his head to see her, still and pale in her green dress.

He pushed off from the wall. A strange fire edged his features that made her stomach turn and her knees buckle together beneath her skirt.

"Mr. Atem?" she said, even as he made his way to her, his passing sending ripples through the backdrop. Those scarlet eyes never wavered.

Before she could so much as squeak the beginning of her question, he had crushed her body to his and his lips pressed over hers in a hot, loose kiss.

She gasped as her heart stopped. Her eyes widened. Sensations she had never experienced crashed into one another and nigh overwhelmed her. The heat of his body through his dress shirt, the firm strength of his arms about her, like barrel bands, the oddly soft sensation of his pelvis against hers as he lifted her up a bit, and then the ultra soft too hot touch of his lips on hers, almost like silk or dry, unmelted wax. Then there was his closed eyes, because she had been too surprised to shut her own.

And his smell. Vanilla, sharpened by cologne till it nearly burned her nose and made her head spin.

Her first kiss. She had never imagined that it could feel like this.

Too soon, he let her go and backed away. Red was quickly filling his face and his eyes had opened into a wide, open look of fear that took years from his face. In a second he had gone from kissing her to looking like a child about to be introduced to the boogie man.

"I-I'm sorry, I meant to come back here and congratulate you but—Yugi I'm..."

He was backing away, elbows drawing in to ready for some unseen blow. Yugi could only stare, mind abuzz like a TV that had lost signal. Every part that he had touched burned with the loss of him, and a drug-like starving to drag him back to her mouth had woken up to a body too naïve and inexperienced to process it.

Mr. Atem's face screwed up. "Oh, God."

He turned to run. A wave brushed across the backdrop, from ceiling to floor.

"Yami!"

He stilled, face away, shoulders hunching. "I-I'm sorry, God I'm—oh God—"

With more initiative than she had ever had in her life, Yugi crossed the space between them and yanked him around. As his mouth opened in surprise, she stood on her toes, dug her hands into his wild hair and pulled his face to hers.

This time, when she clumsily pressed her own mouth to his in the best imitation of the kiss he had just given to her, she remembered to close her eyes. It was probably for the best, because if she saw his shocked expression she might have lost her courage and fled just as he had been about to.

Since she had never kissed a guy in her life, she didn't know how long to hold the kiss or if she should move or if this really was all there was to it. She didn't keep her lips clamped closed, but slightly open in the loose kiss he had given her. Because of that his small gasp sent a rush of breath into her mouth, and the touch of his concentrated vanilla sent turned to taste and filling her own lungs made her shudder. It was the most wonderful, most addictive, most frustration sensation she had ever experienced. She wanted more, wanted to draw him and all he was closer, but not knowing how, and any way of finding out was tightly reined in by her own reasoning and self-apprehension.

When she was certain he wouldn't run, she pulled away, but didn't look up until her heels had dropped down to the floor.

He was staring down at her, fear still shivering in his eyes and wonder drawing his face slack. His hands hovered just an inch from her waist, as though he had been considering grabbing her while she kissed him.

Right then, the orchestra on the other side of the backdrop started up again.

Reality came crashing back in and Yugi moved to retrieve her arms from his hair, but he caught on to her right wrist.

"This way," he whispered.

His hand slipped down to clasp her hand. He pulled her out past the backdrop that now made Yugi feel like he was pulling her past a plane of white clouds. The lights on the other side lit it up with a sun-golden glow. A little fuzz of darkness played the cinderblock walls as they caught their shadows.

She expected him to pull her into the dark wing she had been aiming for in the beginning. But rather then stepping out into the openness there, among spare chairs and techie headphones, he pulled back a curtain to reveal a door which stood among the rigging. She expected it to be locked, but it opened at his touch and he pulled her into the pitch darkness beyond.

When he shut the door behind her, cutting off her exit, a flash of terror burst through her mind. What if she had chosen wrong? No one knew she was here. No one would be able to find them. No one would hear them through the brick and thick metal door.

And then the light flickered on and showed the man before her, banishing her fear. Behind him were walls of spare lights, packages of theater equipment, and racks upon racks of costumes the school had gathered over the years.

He leaned in towards her, bracing a hand on one side of her face and a forearm on the other. He brushed his cheek against hers before flinching back, almost reflexively.

"Are you alright?" he asked heavily. "I…I didn't frighten you? You're not…creeped out by me?"

While he didn't look as frightened as he had before when he pulled away from kissing her, the bleaching shop lights brought out the pallor behind the blotches of red on his cheeks. His eyes watched hers carefully, jumping from one to the other.

"No," she said, surprised to find her own voice working.

He let out a breath. "Yugi…"

They stared at one another. Yugi gave a shaky smile. She should feel embarrassed, she should be hiding behind her hands. Why didn't she? At the same time she had to say something, anything to make this situation make sense. Mr. Atem wasn't supposed to like her. She was too young, too small, too plain. He was supposed to be creeped out by _her!_

And yet her heart wouldn't calm down, nor did the taste of him go away.

When his hands came out a second time, they were hesitant and shaking. One once more braced him against the door behind her while the other brushed her neck with his fingertips, so lightly, he could have not touched her at all. His eyebrows buckled up in earnestness and he licked his lip before speaking.

"Please don't let me hurt you. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you and I never meant to lose control like that, I just…I heard you singing and something in me…" he paused, looking lost for words. His fingers had come to a rest so that the top of his nails just touched the edge of her collarbone. "I love you. You're an angel, Yugi. Somehow you walked out from your safe place, being embraced by a Father God, and came down singing…"

He had waxed poetic, and as he did so his hand lifted from her collarbone to brace his head from meeting the metal door behind her. The arm holding out across her still shook, whether with nerves or passion, she didn't know. All she knew was that her head felt tipsy as she'd forgotten to breathe.

And as his words slid past her, she thought she recognized them. Not the words, but the poetry. She could even see a familiar loopy cursive forming in her mind's eye.

"Singing," he breathed. "To a cynic world laughing at the idea of heaven, chewing on love like a pastime, spitting at any line to the sky. But not you. You fell quiet, but stayed as white and alight as the day you saw divinity's face…"

He had grown so quiet that, if his mouth hadn't been next to her face, she wouldn't have heard him.

"You wrote those poems…" she whispered.

"I shouldn't have, but yes. I thought if I just kept myself hidden that maybe…maybe they'd flatter you, help you see yourself as I do, maybe bring about a miracle. But, Yugi…don't let me hurt you. If you don't want me, please, I beg of you, push me away now and I will leave you alone, I swear it. Don't let me pressure you into anything when I'm so much less…"

Through the fluttering in her chest, something fractured, paining her.

So he…he didn't like himself either…

For once, her hands didn't shake with nerves, but were sure as she put them to his shoulders and pushed him back enough to see his face. She could feel him trembling through her palms, and with his face so close to hers there was no hiding his fear. Strange, to see a man so much older than her shaking with fear of her rejection, and yet begging her to consider it carefully.

She could feel a peculiar smile on her face, one that didn't quite meet her ears. A warm heat spread across her chest, and she reached out to touch that face, to caress him. She had wanted to for so long. She decided then that she didn't care if this was a dream. She'd ride it all the way.

This time, she went her own way as she kissed him. It was little more than a brush of the lips, but his shaking rose to a violent shudder at her touch.

"Yugi—" he gasped. "Please, be sure—"

"Sure of what?" she asked. "That I love you too? I've been sure for a while. I was just waiting for it to go away, because I thought it'd never happened. You're my teacher, after all."

"Exactly, which is why I need you to be sure about this." He paused enough to steady himself. His knees had buckled on either side of her. "You can get so much better than me—believe me when I say you'll have many more chances once you hit college and the boys realize what a prize you are, I don't want to give you a bad history—I don't want you to have to deal with saying you dated your music teacher in high school—"

"Don't you want me?" She sounded hurt and dropped her hands from his face.

His red eyes bore into her at those words, narrowing. "If you knew just how much I want you, you really would be terrified."

She let out a short, breathless laugh. "What? You want to hide me away from the world as your little wife?"

"Something like that." He was drawing close again. She could feel the heat through his dress shirt as she had behind the back drop. "Not sure how I was able to handle just watching the past months. I nearly ran out on you that day you came in looking like death and murdered Keith with my bare hands. And don't even mention that Taylor brat." She couldn't see his face anymore as he had raised it to brush his lips against her forehead. "I shouldn't say more. I don't…just please, be sure, before I do something even more stupid."

She had trouble processing what he had said, her brain still stuck on the words 'something like that.'

Oh wow…

She should consider, as he said, and though she knew she was getting caught up in the moment, this had to be a dream, right? And it wasn't like she hadn't thought of similar things. Yami as a husband…the little house, humble, neat, the safe haven of wild haired children.

This time she brushed her lips against his Adam's apple, which he had foolishly left exposed to her. He shuddered once more, and the idea that she could affect him so was so new and delighting, her smile hurt.

"I love you," she whispered against the skin. "I'm scared, but I'm always scared, and I love you. I can't be as poetic as you, though, so can you just take that I'm sure?"

That seemed to be enough, though, as he brought his face down to catch her lips once more. He pulled back long enough just for her to say, "besides, do I look like the kind of girl who'd like to have rows of boyfriends?" Then came back to give her another one of those loose kisses, where he kept his mouth slightly parted. She followed him in turn, having no other lead as to what to do. Without pulling back he moved into another kiss, leading her as though in a dance, breathing into her, crossing the last inches between them, his fingers burying into her hair and trailing along her arm. When he'd break away for a breath it was to frame her name before coming back down to teach her just a little bit more.

When the sound of applause came through the door at the end of another performance, he drew away further this time, flushed, and eyes too bright.

"I need to stop," he said. "This isn't fair to you, and this…this isn't what I'd want for you."

"What do you mean?" She sounded airy to her own ears, and she tried in vain to get her head down from cloud nine. There was a heavy, but not unpleasant heat beneath her navel.

"Just give me a moment. Please, don't…don't touch me, just for a second." A wry grin. "You're scrambling me."

Thus, she let him pull away, far to the other side of the room, though the moment she couldn't feel his heat her knees gave way and she slid down to the floor. He looked alarmed for a moment, but at her goofy, lopsided smile, he just chuckled and joined her on the floor, crossing his legs.

"Lock the door, would you? Let's not make this messy."

She did so. A simple button lock.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his already wild hair. His lips had become wet and flushed from use, and the too-bright look to his eyes hadn't left. It took her a while before she realized he looked happy, no, more than happy. Elated. The goofy grin on his face mirrored her own, even as he tried to focus elsewhere in order to think clearly.

"If we're going to do this, I want to do it right. I cannot—will not hurt you. I'll…I'll keep it to texting for now. Are you okay with emailing me? At least until you're eighteen."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't trust myself to be around you without royalling screwing up. If I mess up even once I could be tried for statutory rape, not to mention ruin my job prospects, and if our relationship goes as far as I like I want to be able to provide for you with the education I have. That means keeping my distance and keeping quiet."

Wait, by royalling screwing up he meant…

Her face exploded with heat. On seeing it, Yami also blushed furiously and, in a show of very uncharacteristic embarrassment, he raised an arm up to cover his face.

"I-I'm sorry if I was blunt—"

"No, it's okay. Though you're talking about all this like I don't have a choice in the matter of whether 'something' happens."

Rather than just considering her point like she had intended him to, he threw down his arm and responded just short of panic.

"Of course you have a choice! You will always have a choice! But I want to never put you in that sort of situation and refuse to! You're precious, Yugi, I honor you so much, just the idea—"

"Yami! It's okay!" Though his words made her smile hurt again. So good…always wanting to be so good, afraid of not putting all his strength into doing what is right.

How could she ever be worried about whether or not giving him her heart would be a bad idea? How could anyone worry about her when he so vehemently and earnestly wished to guard her in every way? Some may call it old fashion, but Yami's respect of her chastity seemed nothing less than righteous and loving.

That almost pushed her into crossing the room and dragging him into another kiss.

But once he was sure she was, indeed, okay, it was back to business. "Until you're eighteen, it's best we kept everything to a distance, such as phones and such. I also—I also want to let your grandfather know of my intentions so he can help keep an eye—keep you safe. Always safe." He bit his lip and clenched his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Yugi, I'm probably sounding like a complete creepy freak right now, it's just I really, really like you and you're…"

"You don't have to explain yourself. Give me some credit, I do know you that well enough."

He ducked his head down. "I'm so embarrassed."

This made her laugh and love him all the more. "Don't be. If anyone should be, it's me. And to think I thought I was such a creep."

"No way, I'm the creep."

"Then we're both creeps."

They chuckled together. From the other side of the door came the distant clatter of chairs, footsteps, and instruments being taken off stage. In the brief quiet between them, someone passed by the door and daring little shivers ran up her spine at the thought of what they were passing. Hidden away in a back room with her music teacher. Oh, what would Tea think?

"So, what do you think about my idea? Are you still, um, okay with me?" He scratched his cheek with a finger.

"Of course I'm okay with you, you're acting like any moment now I'm going to scream and start throwing my shoes at you."

He gave her a bashful smile that said, 'well, yeah.'

"And it makes perfect sense. I think if I wasn't too busy trying not to come over there and kiss you again, I'd be suggesting the same plan."

He perked a bit. "You want to kiss me again?"

She flushed. "Well, if I'm not going to be able to even touch you until I'm eighteen, which is best, I know—"

She didn't get the chance to finish that sentence. The storage room, or what space they fit into it, wasn't that large in the first place, and Yami crossed it to take her roughly into his arms. This time, Yugi could tell he had been gentle before. What little she had learned about kissing was barely enough to help her keep up as he pressed every part of his body that could reach hers into the door. Without meaning to, without knowing she could even make such a noise, she let out a little moan.

It was a good thing no one needed any costumes or spare theater tech.


	28. Epilogue

**Okay, here's the epilogue because it horrified me that some Guest reader thought Atem had a wife. X.X To clarify, NO NO NO, he doesn't. I thought his expression of morals (aka, wanting to protect Yugi's chastity until they're married), would have clarified that. *shudder* Never want to write a story with adultery in it.**

 **Anyhoo, I hope you have all loved this story. ^.^ At the moment I'm half way through with revising it into a publishable novel. If you were to read it now, you'd hardly recognize it. The story has changed A LOT, and that's what suppose to happen when you revise a novel, especially if you write as quickly as I do without an outline. For a hint, I ended up deleting half the story and rewriting new scenes in the deleted parts place, then rewriting the left over scenes to reflect that change.**

 **It's gonna be good.**

Epilogue

Jim, a long haired grey cat, twisted himself around Yugi's ankles, meowing for attention. Yugi tapped her bottom lip with a pen as she reached down to pet him absentmindly, her gaze on the stack of papers on her knees. Once she read one question, she'd circle the answer, then reach over to a cracker box to get a goldfish cracker, which she popped into her mouth. So far, the goldfish crackers seemed to work the best in keeping the nausea down.

As a secondary measure to keep her anxiety down (which also played a part in how bad her nausea was), some Batman cartoon reruns played on the TV as a distraction. She liked the atmosphere it created in the little living room. Cartoons, warm cat, crackers, soft old couch, and the smell of home. Though she had designed and set up the little house herself, it was the family room that was her favorite, set with a big, old couch that she had found for free on Craigslist and an entertainment set she found at a yard sale and then carefully refurbished. The wedding gift money had just been enough to get the medium flat screen TV on sale at Walmart. On one wall were pictures of her and Yami looking deliriously happy on that same wedding day. The rest of the corners of the small, two bedroom, one bathroom home showed more of Yugi's thrifty engineering, with lovingly worn second-hand furniture, handmade décor, and carefully organized detail.

A teacher's income wasn't extravagant, after all. But no one would have guessed that with how much care Yugi had put into building, not a house, but a home.

Yugi came to a question that made her snort.

"Do I do any illegal drugs?" she read to herself. "Would anyone even answer this question honestly? They're going to make me do a pee test anyways."

She checked no. Of course.

A familiar well-oiled hum came from the driveway. Jim bolted out from between her legs to sit in front of the door. Yugi smiled, but purposely kept her focus on the papers. She didn't want to look too obvious when he came in. It would ruin the surprise.

The door opened. Jim yowled in greeting and Yami threw his bag onto the coat hanger Yugi had set up specifically for it. A few snowflakes from outside fluttered in before he managed to close the door.

"Hey, love. I'm home." He said wearily, then leaned down to pet the cat trying to knot itself around his leg. "Yeah yeah, hey to you too."

"Make sure you take off your shoes."

"I will. Sorry for tracking mud in the other day. What did the doctor say? You feeling any better?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious. I got some meds and just need to keep something on my stomach and take it easy. You can see for yourself on the table." Oh yes, go to the table. Wait for it…

"Yugi…"

Oh yes, did he sound like he was going to faint? Don't laugh, Yugi, don't laugh.

"Yeah?" she said, unable to hold back her smile as she circled a no on the sheet. Not doing drugs made filling out these gynecologist sheets a lot easier.

"Why is there a onesie here…?" Then she heard the rustle of paper. Jim's purring reached her from all the way in the kitchen, where he was probably still trying to glue himself to Yami's shin.

Next thing she knew, Yami had appeared in front of her, grabbed her by her waist, and lifted her into the air. She squealed in surprise, her paperwork gone flying in a small tornado of white.

"Don't hit me on the ceiling!" she shrieked. Idiot had done it before. On accident, yes, but it didn't make it any less humiliating—or painful.

"How could I do that to the mother of my baby?" he crooned, spinning her before crushing her in a tight hug and laughing breathlessly in her ear. "God, how can I love someone so much?"

"I don't know, isn't marriage supposed to make you love someone less?" she said. "And could you not spin me?" Ugh, the nausea. Why couldn't she be one of the special few that the anti-morning sickness medication worked completely for and not just enough to keep her sane?

He instantly knew what she meant and put her down on the couch before setting to work gathering up her paperwork. That ridiculously happy smile on his face had yet to leave.

"Guess I better start clearing out all that junk from the second room—oh, and I'll be needing to hunt down a carseat and a cradle or—crap, what's the difference between a cradle and a crib? Which one do you want? And I'll have to cancel our trip, that might be too much strain, and-"

"Yami! We've got eight months! And it's not like I'm bedridden."

"Eight months? I thought it was nine?"

"Well, technically it's ten, but I'm two months along—"

"Two months! Already?" The papers were dropped and suddenly he was inbetween her legs, his face close to her still flat belly. "Kid, how dare you hide yourself from me."

Blushing furiously she pushed his laughing head away from her. "Do you mind? It's still my body, and it should only be about the size of a big grape or something."

Yami wrinkled his nose. "It? No, you can't call a baby 'it'. It is 'he.' A little boy that I can wrestle in the yard and—"

"—and track more mud into my house? Just wait on the crib, will you? I still have to reorganize the budget around the repairs on that old Neon of yours. Jeeze, why do even second-hand cars have to be so stupid expensive?"

But it was like he hadn't heard her at all, because as soon as he had stripped out of his work clothes into jeans and T-shirt he plopped down next to her on the couch with a laptop, where he proceeded to look up every bit of baby paraphernalia he could think of. Only because he looked so freaking adorable as an excited new daddy did she leave him at it with a roll of her eyes as she went back to filling out her paperwork.

"What's all that for anyways?" he asked, pointing at the papers. "And I think I've figured out the difference between a cradle and a crib, so I think you'd like both. A little bassinet to have next to the bed so you don't have to move far at night." And then he squealed—twenty-seven year old man, squealing.

"Will you calm down already?"

He looked at her as though she was crazy. "How can I calm down? I'm going to be a daddy!"

"It wasn't like we were preventing it or anything."

"But we have a _baby!_ " he said, along with another weird man-squeal. "I better call Uncle Simeon, he's going to crap himself! Crap, wait, Facebook. Facebook exists, I'll just put it on there. Yeah, and then I'll get to cleaning out that second room." He stopped long enough to level a serious glare at her. "Don't you dare think of moving around anything on your own."

She leaned back, confused. "What? Why? It's not like I have a big pregnant belly in the way or anything."

"Because the doctor says you have to take it easy, which I know you have a hard time doing. If I ever hear anyone suggesting that being a housewife isn't a real job I'm going to introduce them to you, freaking workaholic homemaker extraordinaire."

Yugi just shrugged to this. She liked it this way. Though she had learned to be brave, she was still her and found herself happiest making her home the most comfortable, safest place on earth for herself and her husband—and soon her own little family. Not to mention she had plenty of time to learn how to cook, which her husband was kindly willing to be guinea pig for. Joey called her a hermit whenever she had the chance, but then it wasn't like she had much room to talk, holing up in that mansion of hers.

But Yami wasn't about to let it go. "Promise me you won't touch that room until I've cleaned it out."

"Sure, fine, whatever."

She went back to filling out the last of the page, which asked for her family's medical history (do you have any mental illnesses, diabetes, etc in your family?). When she looked up next, the laptop had been closed, the DVD of Batman cartoons had hit the credits, and Yami was looking at her with a burning look she knew all too well.

With her being so sick, it had been a while…

But he just smiled. "I really like you, Yugi."

"Funny, 'cause I was under the impression you were madly in love with me." She put the stack of papers on the coffee table. "Didn't you already tell me that a minute before?"

"You're my wife, I can say I love you as much as I want." He slid a hand behind her to grasp one of her hips and leaned closer to catch her lips. There he kept pressing down till she was lain out on the couch for him to look down upon and admire. He flashed a playful smile. "My wife."

"Very good, you know your shapes."

He hummed in his throat and leaned down to nip and kiss her neck. She leaned her head to the side to allow him better access, which he took to trail kisses up to her earlobe, which he sucked on before lowering himself the rest of the way to her body, careful and gentle with his weight.

"I can't wait till you get all cute and big," he murmured. "Nice and round."

"You're sounding like a creep."

"I am a creep." Another nibble and trace to the other side. The Batman theme of the DVD's main menu started to play.

But she didn't mind. Nor was she afraid. Her Yami had kept every promise he made up until then (besides forgetting to bring home milk occasionally). What was to say he wouldn't keep his marriage promise to her as well? To love and care for her and only her, through sickness and health, poverty and prosperity, until the day they should die?

And as his hands worked themselves beneath her clothes, she was more than happy to do a little teaching herself as to just how she needed him to love her.


	29. Epilogue2: How Mr Atem met Yugi

Erase Me Extra

Mr. Atem's POV

Meeting Yugi

 **Author's Intro/Gift:**

 **Since it's lame to give you all an announcement without a story update, I offer you this little oneshot of how Mr. Atem fell in love with Yugi!**

 **Why the announcement? Today I release the first book in a series of inexpensive Kindle books that I've started to help put food on the table LITERALLY, as in I'm having a hard time paying for food and the basics. If you can, please drop by and pick up a copy of it.**

 **It's titled "Wendy" and you can find it on Amazon under the pen name T.S. Lowe. I've put a synopsis at the end of this chapter.**

 **Now I'll get out of your way...**

Yami knew he'd made a horrible mistake when he heard the first note of his student teaching internship. Of course he'd been around bad musicians before. Of course he'd been around teenagers before—for Pete's sake, he was only a few years off of being a teenager himself.

What he hadn't been prepared for was bad musicians AND teenagers.

The teacher he'd intern had enough compassion on Yami to give him use of his dark, windowless office after third period, where he'd eat, swallow migraine meds, and nurse an ice pack. It was effective enough that, but the end of his internship, he had begun to believe that his career choice wasn't a complete bust. He had the ritual down, and he found his tolerance building up that he didn't even need the dark office by the time he left that god forsaken choir room with only a minor ache behind his eyes.

Uncle Simeon and all his various musically inclined friends thought him a masochist, but that was nothing new. Yami thought his aspirations noble enough to forego mere masochism. For he believed, down to his core, that music wasn't to be kept within the circles of those who could make it, but practiced by all. But really, Yami really just had a dream of finding a diamond hidden within the squawking coop of wannabe's and lazy kids looking for an easy period.

After all, his uncle had done the same for him. It had taken his uncle to see through what his parents thought as a headache inducing brain defect, and Yami owed the obnoxious geezer his life. At least, that's how he saw it.

So, he graduated. Had a job waiting for him to start right after the summer. Walked into his first class, hopes high, ears peeled for that diamond…

And found himself puking around fourth period. The summer of adolescent-ADD-music had washed away his built up tolerance, and the migraines were back with a vengeance. But it had been the first violins that had done him in. Playing that high of music shouldn't be legal until you'd played for at least ten years, minimum. Who the hell put this in his folder? This was the school's anthem? Like hell.

Mr. Higgen's, his fellow music teacher and director of the bands, was a joke. If it didn't involve trumpets and marching, the balding man was playing his own trombone along with his kids, totally ignoring their off key mashups and just 'feeling it.' And it wasn't like Yami could wear ear plugs while the band from hell played during fifth period, because he was on the other side of the wall with Concert Choir.

He wanted to run. Screw the fact that he had signed an apartment lease for a year, or the contract he had with the school, or the fact that he was lucky to even have a job so soon after college. A band that didn't know the definition of piessamo wasn't part of the deal—and the first violins, ugh!

But then he'd come down to the only option left to him if he did run: going back to his parents. He'd have to admit to them there really was something wrong with him, that it really wasn't healthy to get headaches whenever you hear an out of tune note. That it wasn't talent, just…a brain defect.

So he staggered into the second week.

It was on that second Monday morning, dreading the day to come, that he saw her.

He recognized her instantly as a girl in his third period Concert Choir. She was hard to miss with her crazy dyed hair, no matter how hard she tried to use her petite stature to hide behind the others. She had come early and was crouched in an alcove of a classroom doorway, patting something on the face of a gangly girl with messy blond hair and stained clothes that looked as though they had seen better days. Neither girl had seen him, and they wouldn't unless they stood to see around the corner.

"You should have come over," she said lowly, though there was a surprising, motherly sort of anger that didn't match her tiny form.

"I'm fine, aren't I? Is' no big deal."

The small girl's eyes narrowed and flashed. "You're coming home with me after school."

The taller slapped her hand away, which Yami noticed was holding a wet, folded sock. "Don't start, Yug, please. Not on a Monday."

"The whole right side of your face is swelling up! Please, Joey—"

"I said stop." The taller girl—Joey? What kind of girl was named Joey?—stood up abruptly and the wet sock flopped to the linoleum. "If I leave, it will kill him. Are you ready to have someone's death on your hands?"

The smaller girl's expression split with pain—so real and so earnest that it stopped Yami's heart. He remembered High School. He remembered all the grief that came with being a moody teenager, with all its stupid dramas and needs. But this girl's pain wasn't that. This was something real. This was like the face his mother made when the doctor told her he could do nothing as her little boy clutched his head and dry heaved across the table.

Realizing the Joey girl was about to see him, he smoothed his face into his best 'it's too early and I don't want to be here but I'm a professional, damn it' that he could, and kept walking.

That expression had marked something out of the ordinary in his noisy day, if for no other reason than it had startled him. He wanted to help, and he knew he should, but he knew all too well that teenagers were no different than adults when it came to their secret trials. People didn't want your help or attention to what hurt them, unless specifically asked.

But he couldn't shake off that deep, seated helplessness, and when third period came he found her tri-colored hair and did his best not to stare too hard at her puffy, red eyes, bright from moisture, despite her dry, clean face.

Wait…were her eyes purple?

He started the choir into their song, all the while keeping half an eye out for her, wondering. Headaches came and went.

When Tuesday came he was still watching, wary for signs of tears. Because of this, just as he was bracing himself for the soprano onslaught, he heard it. Small, tucked neatly within the cacophony of squeaks and squalls, but there. And clear. Clearer than a bell, and far more kind.

He had new reasons for paying attention to her now. Could this be his diamond in the rough? And so soon?

He now had renewed purpose for enduring the migraines, the irritating troublemakers, the smartaleks who didn't care how much student debt and pain he went through to give them a decent education, and the fat trombone music teacher who kept losing music that ended up costing Yami money. If he could find a diamond in the rough, show her just how far her future could go—just how bright and beautiful those moments surrounded by others like her could be—it would be worth it. Maybe it would give her a reason to smile and wipe the tears from her eyes. Maybe it might even give her the means to help with whatever was going on with her friend.

Of course he was dreaming. Of course he was probably taking it to the extreme. But he needed something extreme, because his parents house was sounding ever more attractive.

It didn't take him long to learn that she had a case of shyness bordering on a mental disorder, though that only encouraged him. Wasn't his musical talent in a way a disorder?

He'd see her in the halls with that gangly, messy girl with the boy-like name he'd, sadly, already forgotten (he had to remember hundreds of names from his classes alone, remembering a name from a student he never taught was just a bit too much for his newbie teacher cells). He caught wide, white smiles that sent those purple eyes aglow as though the industrial hallway lights were photographer's brights. He heard her laugh so hard she cried next to a drinking fountain at something her friend said. He saw her give a half amused glare to the Kaiba boy who had taken to flirting with her shaggy blonde friend.

He saw her comfort a fellow soprano next to her when she came in crying with that same, earnest, sincere look of pain, as though she really felt it, even though he doubted the other girl was her friend. Yugi only had one friend. But she shared her music to whoever needed it. She slipped candybars into violin cases. She found Mr. Higgen's keys and snuck them onto his desk without the teacher's notice. She played a boy's card game in the cafeteria with a hilarious misplaced expression of a Saturday morning cartoon hero's game face. She wore lots of little skirts, but never wore heels. She'd never come to school wearing makeup, but occasionally would be dragged out of a girl's bathroom by her trusty friend all dolled up and blushing pink.

And always, always, nestled in among the headache inducing squabble, was that tempting hint of serenity, high, perfectly in tune, and gentle.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was in the middle of it.

Oh dear god. He should have run away when he could. He should have gone back to his parents, brain damage affirmation aside. This could not happen.

And it wouldn't, he told himself firmly, even as he quieted the piano during the sopranos' section in order to try and hear her. Nothing had changed. She could still be his diamond in the rough and nothing more. But, first he'd have to do something about that shyness. Poor thing burst into tears the moment he even mentioned everyone in the choir should sing one at a time. Why was she so afraid in the first place?

It was difficult asking around with the other teachers. He was young, and therefore even more likely to go under suspicion if he should get too specific about certain students, especially female ones. For the most part, he got that she was relatively smart, but tended to cause trouble now and then when she attracted bullies.

That had been a strange day for him. Finding out a sweet little girl actually attracted bullies, and then realizing he could do little to nothing about it. That had given him stomach cramps on top of his daily headache.

 _Right, so,_ he thought in the dark cool of his apartment. _Self-esteem is definitely an issue, and with only the scraggily girl in rags for a friend, she probably doesn't feel like she can make much of an impression on those around her—or any good impression, that is._

This bothered him. This bothered him more than he cared to understand. Because he didn't know when he had started looking forward to his days of high school torture because he knew she was there. That he might be able to hear her voice clearly that day. That he might be able to learn something more as to why she had looked in so much pain that day she hunkered down in the doorway and tended to her friends face with one of her own, soaked socks.

 _A letter…a letter would be anonymous. And if I get in early enough…her locker number should be under her school profile. Teachers can access those. Easy enough._

And that was all he needed. He told himself it was to help lift her self-esteem. Though a hopping shout of excitement had pressed against his lungs at the thought of being able to talk to her, even if only through this one way route. Even if she couldn't know it was him, maybe…maybe…

And though he planned to just say frilly, flattering things, what came out was simply the truth he wished she could hold. If she knew how brightly she shone—if she only knew.

" _Come no closer, kindness…"_

 **"Wendy" synopsis:**

 _Wendy knows she tends to be a mother hen to her friends. But if she doesn't, who will? Her boys are lost from their parents in more ways then one, especially the mysterious Kolya, who awkwardly befriended them after fleeing the Russian mafia. She almost wishes he hadn't when she finds herself on the end of what must be a one-sided love. After all, why would the cool, handsome, aloof Kolya have any interest in a nagging she-man like her?_

 _But when Kolya's past catches up with them, getting rid of an unwanted crush will be the last thing on Wendy's mind._

 **You get a book and I get milk. You don't get me milk, and you still get an extra chapter of your favorite story.**


End file.
